The Wanderer
by xoxOVERLORDxox
Summary: AU. Instead of receiving a Pikachu as his starter, Ash Ketchum is only given an empty pokeball and a sheepish grin from Professor Oak. Anger and spite clouding his soul, he sets out only to find a ray of hope in the form of a small, injured Bagon. It's funny how a tiny twist of fate can change one's destiny forever. Dark, smarter Ash – various shippings included.
1. Prologue

**EDIT: Special thanks to Lay Down Hunter for pointing out some details that needed fixing.**

* * *

**This is in no way my first dabbling in fanfiction, but this _is _my first serious attempt at a story. If this story is like another one, it is completely coincidental. I formulated this in my brain while I lay awake one long night.**

**Before you start reading, here are some basic details about this story that may invite you to read more or turn you off.**

**1) Most obviously, Ash's starter will not be a Pikachu. He will also have different pokemon.**

**2) There will be five regions, Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova.**

**3) Ash is going to go through the regions, but his traveling companions will change. Sometimes, he will be alone.**

**4) Lots of things will be different from the canon as is expected in an alternate universe. People will die. Nobody is safe.**

**5) Ash will be much smarter than his old self.**

**6) Elements from the game, the anime, and even the manga will be included (plot points, characters, events, etc).**

**7) Yes, there will be (maybe multiple) shippings involving Ash, but you'll have to wait a while. I plan on little ten year old Ash having crushes, but only getting into a serious relationship _much _later. And even if there is a serious relationship, it could always end, be it death or any other thing that ends relationships.**

**That will be all for now. There is another author's note at the end of this chapter. Also, starting next chapter, I will be posting the ages of the characters to avoid confusion.**

* * *

AU. Instead of receiving a Pikachu as his starter, Ash Ketchum is only given an empty pokeball and a sheepish grin from Professor Oak. Anger and spite clouding his soul, he sets out only to find a ray of hope in the form of a small, injured Bagon. It's funny how a tiny twist of fate can change one's destiny forever. Dark, smarter Ash – various shippings included.

* * *

The Wanderer

**Prologue**

"Listen up, son," a dark haired trainer said, stroking a small child's spiky hair, "daddy's going to go away for a while."

"How long are you going to be gone?" his son questioned, hugging his father's broad chest tightly with his small hands.

The older man stared into the distance, watching as the setting sun threw the sky into a beautiful explosion of color. "To be honest, Ash, I don't know."

His son blinked, eyes fiery red just like his father. However, the similarities didn't end there. Both son and father had black, untamable hair. Both had a distinct love for pokemon. Both were going to miss each other dearly when the father left.

Ash's father stood up, his joints cracking from the movement. In a blink, a stream of red light flowed from an enlarged pokeball that he had been toying with for sometime to reveal a monster of a pokemon; a large, red draconian terror that Ash was all to familiar with.

"Charizard," the child breathed, watching the powerful pokemon's muscles ripple as it beat its wings, unleashing a ground shaking roar that nearly burst Ash's eardrums. The pokemon had an incredibly large ego, only bowing down to its master and absolutely no one else. Ash learned this fact the hard way.

A small growl of affection came from the pokemon as the man hopped on top of it, years of experience telling him that there was no need for a saddle of some sort. With a slight pat on the side of Charizard's head, the beast unleashed a large, golden plume of flame that stretched far into the now dark sky, a grandiose show of sheer power and control.

"When you are older," the man began, finding the words hard to say through a constricting throat, "when you have your own pokemon team…"

He kicked the sides of the Charizard with his heels, sending it flying into the air effortlessly, and turned it around, so that he could look at his son for one last time in a long while.

"_Find me at the top of the world._"

**– Ω –**

Ash awoke suddenly, feeling the warm streams of sunlight pouring over him. His pulse was thundering in his head, and sweat coated his palms.

This was a reoccurring nightmare of the day his father left the family. At the time, Ash was too young and merely thought that his dad was going on a business trip or a tour around the island battling trainers, but apparently his motives were a lot darker.

Two days after Ash's seventh birthday, his father, the Champion from Pallet Town, disappeared without a trace, taking only six pokemon with him. But those six pokemon were, arguably, the most powerful pokemon in the entire region of Kanto. After all, they did beat Lance in a six-on-six battle.

Ash knew the story all too well, how his Epseon, Snorlax, Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise fought to the bitter end against the dragon trainer's viscous pokemon only to be defeated when a Dragonair accidentally evolved into a Dragonite, bringing Lance's grand total of the dragon pokemon up to three. With only one pokemon left, his father sent in his famed Pikachu and it singlehandedly took down a pair of Dragonite to deliver the match to its friend and master.

Ever since then, Ash wanted a Pikachu as his starter. He wanted to be just like his father, the man known to the world as _Red_.

It was surprising, to a lot of people, that the lauded trainer would settle down in such a small, sleepy town and have a son, no less. But whenever one laid their eyes on Ash, there was no doubt that the boy was the legendary Red's son. He was the spitting image of his father.

Ash shook away his feelings of unease, taking his time getting dressed. He took a long shower, the last in a long time, he knew, and put on black cargo pants with a red and white outdoors shirt. Then he slipped on his fingerless gloves and put on his Pokemon League hat, which took _millions _of sent postcards to get, but even that troublesome affair couldn't wipe off the smile on Ash's. Today was the day that he received his starter from Professor Oak. He had been waiting for this day ever since his father filled his mind with the heroic tales of Pokemon, and finally, after turning ten two days ago, his dreams of becoming the very best, a Pokemon Master, would finally be realized.

He strolled downstairs, noticing that his mother was either out or not awake yet. The soon to be trainer took a quick glance at the clock in the microwave, _12:32_, and was about to prepare a meal when something clicked in his mind.

_Professor Oak was giving out the Pokemon at 11:00._

An odd, strangled sort of scream tore its way out of Ash's mouth. The Professor's lab was two miles away.

Before his mother could ask him to shut his mouth in order to prevent flies from flying in, Ash had taken off faster than she had ever seen him and ran all the way, in record time, to the lab.

The area around the lab was completely deserted by the time Ash had gotten there. Whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, Ash didn't know. Sweat trickled down his face like a lazy waterfall, and the boy all but kicked open the door to the building.

"Professor Oak!" Ash yelled, dashing forward towards the researcher.

Said man turned around in shock, eyeing the sweaty kid with a warm smile. "Hello, Ash. What can I do for you today?" But in the back of his mind, the man felt nothing but worry as he predicted the next few words that would come out of the little boy's mouth.

A grin splitting his face, Ash responded with, "I want to become a Pokemon Trainer!"

Oak nodded grimly and led the young boy to a large computer, where he had Ash input some data for his trainer's license. Then, in an attempt to stall as much as possible, the professor gave him a Pokedex, going into great detail about how the device work and such.

"Yeah, yeah," Ash dismissed with a wave of his hand, "you know, it's not like I _haven't_ been doing fieldwork for you during the past three years. Let's get to the good part!"

Normally the boy was a lot calmer and logical, Oak noticed. The man could only hope that the child could handle disappointment well. If only he didn't ask for a –

"Professor, can I have a Pikachu as my starter?" the boy asked, his tone barely suppressing the excitement in his veins.

_Damn it_. "Ah, yes, I would love to give you a Pikachu – "

Ash cheered loudly, pumping his fist into the air, and started galloping around the otherwise silent building. "I knew it! Thanks so much, Oak – erh, I mean Professor Oak! Is it the wild Pikachu that I helped catch for you last week?"

"Uh…" the professor was thinking of how to deliver this in a subtle, sympathetic – "no."

_Oh no_, Oak thought glumly, observing Ash's demeanor quickly fall, _that didn't come out right. _He could see panic and surprise written all over the young boy's face.

"No?" Ash asked, his voice a lot quieter than before.

Staying silent for a moment, Professor Oak pondered how to deliver the news to the little boy. "I gave away that Pikachu an hour ago."

"What."

Oak could see the fire in the boy's eyes. He really was his father's son. "But…" he quickly turned around and spotted something on the table, "you can have this!"

He handed Ash the pokeball, which the latter stared at with unbelieving eyes. It was an _empty _pokeball. Not even a Charmander, a Squirtle, or even a freaking _Bulbasaur._

There was a hollow feeling inside him. Then –

"WHAT?"

"I'm sorry Ash," the professor apologized, scared by the child's sudden outburst.

Anger swirled through his veins. Ash's grip on the pokeball was so harsh that his knuckles were turning white. It wasn't even a special pokeball. It was the most basic one, the famous (yet cheap) red and white pokeball.

"There has to be another pokemon around here," Ash stated, managing to keep his boiling anger under a lid. It was impressive for the young kid to keep his temper in check, but it was extremely volatile and explosive. Oak knew that fact all too well. He had observed it within Ash's father as well.

"Well, there's a Charizard and a Blastoise out back for study, but – "

"Please, let me have one," Ash all but begged, a desperate look filling his crimson eyes.

The professor sighed sadly. "I would, Ash, but you're just too inexperienced to handle the pokemon."

Ash recoiled as if he was bit by a Fearow, disbelief replacing the desperate look. Through gritted teeth, Ash all but snarled out his last words. "Is that what this is all about? After all the funds my dad gave for your research, after _all _of the fieldwork that I've done for you… this, _this pokeball_, is the best thing you've got for me?"

"I'm sorry, Ash."

Oak stared at the kid with sadness and pity in his eyes, pity that Ash loathed. "I'll tell you what, Oak," he continued, his voice steely with a maturity beyond his years, "I'm going to go out into the wilderness. I'm going to catch myself a pokemon or die trying, and then I swear on Arceus above that I am going to follow my father's footsteps and return to Pallet Town a _champion_, and then you can say your _lies _and _apologies_!"

Without another word, Ash walked out of the building despite of the professor's protests. He ignored the stares of people walking by, whispers and gossip about the son of the legend, and Ash grew sick of it all – sick of the lies, sick of the pity, sick of humans in general.

With a beep, his Pokegear notified him of his mother calling him. Suddenly, his anger subdued a little bit and remained dormant. He had to say goodbye before embarking on his journey.

"Hi mom."

"_Ash!_" Even through his phone, Ash could tell the worry in her tone. "_Professor Oak told me everything that happened. Please, come home. You'll get hurt out there without pokemon to protect you._"

"Mom, I'll be fine," he tried to persuade her.

"_No you won't be! There are so many things out there that can hurt you and you don't have the experience to handle them! There are vast migrations of new pokemon from other regions and I don't – _" At this comment, anger flared in his heart.

"I love you, mom."

"_Ash, no – _" click.

Immediately, the Pokegear rang again. Annoyance, bubbling like a spring in his stomach, caused him to decline the call. Soon after that, another call followed, and Ash, his judgment tainted by his anger and fury, blocked his mother's number.

A Pokemon Master didn't need babying, after all.

His decision was firm. The only people he truly knew or cared about in his life left him, betrayed him, or revealed themselves to be a major asshole, like Gary. Ash couldn't even believe that he had been friends with that kid. His own mother and Professor Oak did nothing but try and stop him from achieving his dream. The girl named May that he liked decided to leave town when he was nine.

Nothing was going to stop him from becoming a Pokemon Master.

**– Ω –**

Ash had been trekking through the wilderness for some time now, wandering aimlessly along Route 1 on the road to Viridian City.

Along the way, Ash spotted the usual pokemon in the area, like the Pidgey and the Rattata, but a few new faces greeted him as well. He found himself documenting all the new pokemon that he came across with his Pokedex, a habit he picked up while studying under Professor Oak.

Oak. The name left a bitter feeling in his tongue.

Most of the pokemon just watched him saunter by, not really bothering to acknowledge him in some way. The pokemon on Route 1 were peaceful and used to the presence of humans, so Ash didn't find himself being viciously attacked by a flock of Fearow.

After walking by a pokemon from the Hoenn region, a Poochyena, according to his Pokedex, Ash found himself lost. The grassy flatlands of Route 1 suddenly became hilly terrain, and Ash was traversing a flat valley in between the hills. He checked his Pokegear's map only to find that there wasn't a signal.

The gravity of the situation struck him, and Ash forced himself to remain calm. He turned around and spotted a scar running through the hills back to some flat ground, which he assumed was the way he came. Without panicking, Ash observed pokemon above him on the fifty-foot cliffs surrounding him as he continued back towards Route 1.

His father gave him a lot of advice on pokemon ever since Ash was a little boy. Ash had hung onto every word his old man said, ranging from type advantages to pokemon abilities to his father's theory on training pokemon and even to wilderness survival skills.

_This must be a shortcut to some other route_, Ash mused, taking note of the canyon that he was walking in. The walls were pretty far from each other, around twenty feet or so, and the ground was littered with rocks and dry bushes.

Without really paying attention, Ash accidentally stepped on a boulder. Although, the problem was that it really _wasn't _a boulder.

A girly scream escaped from Ash's mouth when a Geodude emerged from its hiding spot, cracking its rock fingers menacingly. There was moss growing on its face and an evil smirk emerged, as if the pokemon was wondering what type of torture it could put Ash through before killing him.

"Easy does it," Ash gently murmured, remembering how to handle wild pokemon. "I didn't mean to hurt anybody."

Ash slowly inched its way around the pokemon, watching for any sudden movements. He knew that if he started sprinting away, the pokemon would no doubt get spooked and attack him. The plan was working out well, that is, until Ash bumped into another rock.

_You have got to be kidding me_, the boy thought as he watched a Graveler emerge from the ground. Startled, Ash wondered if every single rock was a pokemon, and, based on his luck, Ash wouldn't be surprised if they were. The dual type pokemon grabbed Ash with two of its four hands and punched him in the gut with the other, smiling the entire time as if it was imagining how Ash would taste.

More and more rock pokemon emerged from the ground, all apparently awakened from their slumber. He was greeted with even more malicious smiles as the Geodudes and Gravelers cracked their joints. It was only then that Ash realized that there were human bones smashed underneath from where the pokemon emerged.

Not even a day into his journey, and Ash was already going to die. Wonderful.

Before death, some people felt fear, the cold, icy sensation coupled with a nauseating epiphany that their life was over. But Ash felt skeptical. There was no way that his journey was going to end right now. _I am going to find a way out of this_, he promised to himself through the pain.

_CAAAAAAW! _There was the massive cry of a predator high above.

He stared upwards, to where there were pokemon watching him before. But all he could see was a massive bird creature soaring to the heavens, its rainbow feathers leaving behind a trail of glittering gold as it disappeared from sight.

Ash gulped. The boy knew a legendary when he saw one. If he died, at least he saw a legendary pokemon. As the remaining Geodudes advanced upon him, Ash shut his eyes, awaiting the imminent pain, when suddenly –

"_Baaaaaaagon!_"

He stared upwards, startled once again, but this time for a whole other reason. A golden pokemon had flung itself off of the fifty-foot cliff, sailing downwards head first to a distinct suicide. Strangely, the Geodudes panicked, scurrying off into Arceus-knows-where. The few brave ones had their gazes fixed upon the strange pokemon, who was flapping its arms as if it could fly, still screaming as it plunged headfirst towards a Geodude.

The second the pokemon collided with the Geodude, the rock type all but crumbled, leaving nothing but a swirling trail of dust that was blown away by the winds channeled into the canyon. The small pokemon emerged from the dust, victorious, slighty dazed as well, but somehow, miraculously still alive.

The Geodude's friends gazed at the intruder before charging it, but they stood no chance. The pokemon's head was harder than steel and pummeled the Geodude to dust as if this was naught but a training session. Instantly, he felt the Graveler behind him release its grip as the dual type pokemon focused in on Ash's savior.

However, the little pokemon had just finished devastating a Geodude with a powerful headbutt attack of some sort and wasn't paying attention to the Graveler. It fired a powerful stream of rocks at the little pokemon and was rewarded with a direct hit and a squeal of surprise and pain.

Instantly, before his mind could think, Ash's body moved to intercept the Graveler before it could to any more damage to the other pokemon. He tackled the unsuspecting rock type to the ground only to be compensated for his troubles with a rock hard fist to the face, sending the young boy sprawling backwards. Ash staggered to his feet, already feeling woozy from the blow to the head. Luckily, the Graveler hadn't been able to put all of its power into the blow; otherwise, Ash would _not _be standing up right now. With the groveler's attention on him, the rock pokemon failed to realize the incoming attack before it was too late, getting blind sighted by an iron dome of pain.

The Graveler whirled on the smaller pokemon and slammed his feet into the ground, forcing some rocks to fly up. With a swipe of its hand, the large group of rocks flew out the tiny pokemon, cutting its small abdomen into crisscrosses of red, blood pooling from the pokemon's wounds.

With a mighty shout, Ash charged the Graveler again, only to be picked up and thrown into the cliff wall painfully. The Graveler was preoccupied before, so the throw wasn't as agonizing – it still hurt a _damn_ lot, though – as it should have been. The rock pokemon slammed his feet into the ground once again, devastatingly sharp rocks flying into the air, and was about to swipe them at Ash when –

A large, draconian roar thundered through the canyon. A magnificent beam of dragon energy slammed into the Graveler, sending the pokemon flying. The dual type hit the ground hard enough to leave an imprint, and one look told Ash that it had fainted. He stood up from where he had ungracefully slumped against the ground, focusing his gaze on the small pokemon that saved him.

The pokemon was a bipedal creature with gold and black skin. It had a hard, black dome and a black underbelly as well, which was covered in cuts and bruises. While obviously strong, the pokemon took some damage against the much more experienced and powerful Graveler, and with the massive free-fall headbutt, Ash could safely say that the pokemon needed medical attention. But then again, so did Ash. Judging by how stiff his chest felt after the Graveler's attack, it was safe to say the he had a bruised rib, maybe even broken.

_Should I save myself or risk it and save the pokemon as well? _Ash thought, staring at the creature. It returned the gaze and blinked at him thoughtfully, as if evaluating him. After noting the large bruises and cuts already on the pokemon's body, Ash's decision was instantaneous.

"Come on, little guy," Ash muttered, earning a pair of narrowed eyes from the pokemon. "Uh, I meant girl. Sorry. I'm going to get you to a Pokemon Center."

He scooped the little thing up into his arms, feeling the cold, reptilian skin gently prick his hands. The small pokemon's eyes grew wide and pointed at something behind Ash. Turning around, Ash gave a yelp and cursed some words ten year old boys shouldn't know.

There was a miniature army of Geodudes and Gravelers staring right at them, blocking the exit to Route 1. So really, there was only one other option left.

Ash ran. He ran wherever there weren't living rocks trying to kill him, occasionally following the direction of the stubby little arms from the pokemon curled up in his chest, pointing towards the exit to the valley. All the while, painful rock attacks kept smashing into his back, tearing up his clothes and skin as he shielded the smaller pokemon in his chest.

The space between the cliffs grew narrower and narrower, and Ash could've sworn that he saw the lights of Viridian City. That propelled him to run faster, the adrenaline pumping through his veins as he finally escaped the valley and was back onto Route 1. Ash was about to celebrate when he suddenly hit a person on a bike and sent it flying into the river. Ha, lucky him, the owner was a girl and somehow ended on top of him.

Ash had a glance of furious green eyes before he was succumbed to darkness.

**– Ω –**

Wisps of ice cream, pokemon, and memories drifted by until Ash suddenly bolted upright, ripping something out of his arm painfully and hopped out of the bed, eyes wide with fear at the unfamiliar surroundings…

… that is, until he realized he was in a hospital ward. And that there was a furious, orange haired girl screaming insults rapid fire after him. Talk about a massive headache.

"Alright, I get it!" Ash snapped, startling the angry girl into silence. "I'm sorry for wrecking your bike. Now where is that pokemon that I came with?"

Flabbergasted, the girl opened her mouth and closed it, somewhat resembling a fish. "You're sorry… _you're sorry? _IS THAT WHAT YOU SAY TO THE PERSON WHO SAVED YOUR LIFE!?"

This time it was Ash's turn to be stunned to silence. That temper was legendary. The girl scratched the back of her neck and gave him a sheepish smile. "Your pokemon healed before you did. You guys are lucky that we were so close to Viridian."

Ash grabbed his backpack and sprinted out of the room with the girl hot on his heels. "Hey! The doctor said that you aren't allowed to get up for another day!"

_Forget that_, Ash thought, determined. _I'm finding that pokemon. _"What's your name again?"

"Misty!" the girl shouted. Ash responded with a nod.

"Your pokemon is really loyal, by the way," the girl muttered, easily keeping up with the running boy. "It's waiting for you outside."

"It's not my pokemon," Ash informed, slightly panting from the sudden surge of exercise. "It's a wild pokemon, not from Kanto, though."

"Oh yeah!" Misty suddenly yelled, and Ash flinched from her passionate outburst. "I remember seeing stuff about that on TV. There are mass pokemon migrations throughout the world. Pokemon from as far as Sinnoh have been spotted here."

"Cool, my mom told me about that," Ash revealed, a slight tone of contempt seeping into his voice at the mention of his mom.

He burst out of the Pokemon Center with the girl _still _on his heels and immediately spotted the gold and black pokemon sitting underneath a tree. Immediately, it gave a squeal of delight – _"Bagon!"_ – and crashed into Ash, sending the two sprawling on impact. With the wind knocked out of him, Ash got back up and trembling legs, noticing the pokemon wrapping its stubby little arms around his leg, eyes peering up at him with obvious intelligence.

Ash heard the girl take a deep breath. "Wow, I've never seen anything like it."

Pulling out his Pokedex, Ash responded with, "Neither have I, but we'll find out soon enough."

He scanned the pokemon, and a _ding _from the device told the two that it had identified the pokemon.

"_Bagon, the Dragon Pokemon, is a native of Hoenn and a Dragon type pokemon," _the electronic device read. Ash was already trembling in excitement. It was a real dragon pokemon.

"_Bagon has a dream of one day soaring in the sky. In doomed efforts to fly, this Pokémon hurls itself off cliffs. As a result of its dives, its head has grown tough and as hard as tempered steel. Although it is small, this Pokémon is very powerful because its body is a bundle of muscles. It launches headbutts with its ironlike skull."_ With a click, the device signaled that its speech was over.

"Wait, this Bagon looks _nothing _like the one in the Pokedex," Misty observed, looking back and forth. "That one is blue, yet this one is – "

"It's a shiny Bagon from the Hoenn region… in Kanto!" Ash breathed, marveling at his good luck. "I've heard of them before. These pokemon are rarer than rare! And to think that it's _shiny_, too. Someone pinch me, please."

"Obliged," Misty grinned, pinching his arm with her long nails. Ash yelped in surprise, glaring at the girl before redirecting his attention back to the affectionate shiny Bagon.

Gently prying the pokemon's arms off of him, Ash knelt down and pulled out a pokeball. The Bagon stared at the object before returning its gaze to Ash, pointing at the ball inquisitively.

"This is a pokeball," Ash told the pokemon, not sure if it could understand human speech but not really caring either. "It holds pokemon like you. If you'd like, because I really, _really _want you to, you can join my team of pokemon and we can be friends forever as we rise to become the very best. You'll be known as the greatest dragon pokemon ever, I promise you that. Better than even Lance's dragons. I'll dedicate everything into making sure that you become a legend amongst your kind… so all you have to do is tap this little white circle.

"There will be hardship and rough roads ahead. I can't promise you a pain free life. But I have a feeling that you don't really care because you, without needing any good reason to, saved me when I was about to die. It'd be an honor to – "

Ash was cut off of his long speech when the Bagon clicked the little white circle and was immediately sucked into the pokeball by a red light. It dinged instantly, showing a willing capture, and Ash pumped his fist in excitement, letting loose a cry of victory.

Quickly, Ash took out his Pokedex and scanned the ball, checking Bagon's move set. He was incredibly surprised and impressed: _Crunch, Dragon Breath, Ember, _and _Zen Headbutt_. A grin nearly split his face in half.

"Well, that was an impressive speech back there," Misty said sarcastically, breaking the silence.

Ash ignored her stab at him. "This is my first pokemon…" He clutched the ball tightly to his chest before shrinking it and clipping it to his belt.

"A Bagon as a starter?" Misty sounded skeptical. "I doubt you have the experience for that. Do you even know what it _evolves _into?"

"Yeah, a Salamence," Ash retorted, anger suddenly flooding his mind. "And I am _perfectly _able to handle it, thank you very much."

Annoyed by his snappy retort, Misty fired back. "Who do you think you are? The Champion of Kanto?"

Ash laughed at the irony of it all. _No, but I am his son_. "I'm Ash Ketchum. Who are _you_?"

"Misty Waterflower," she introduced, including a mocking bow, "ex-leader of the Cerulean Gym. Ketchum, the name sounds familiar."

Although Ash didn't want to admit it, her persona was impressive. Misty didn't look that old. At most, she was eleven. And yet, even at her young age, she managed to snag the position of Gym Leader. "Try Red Ketchum."

"_Red?_" Misty sounded scandalized. "How can you be the son of _Red?_"

Ash grit his teeth, a fire dangerously swirling in his eyes. "Wow, if you were any more blunt you'd be a – "

Misty interrupted his awesome comeback by grabbing the shorter boy by the front of his shirt. "I _saved _you from _bleeding out _in the freaking ground and hauled your _nearly-dead-butt _all the way to Viridian just to find out that you're a total _jerk_! And to think that I was going to ask you to be my traveling partner…"

The fire was quenched. Ash's voice was soft. "Traveling partner…?"

"Yeah," she huffed, turning away, "traveling partner. I must've been delusional to think that you would've made a good traveling partner."

Ash was at a loss of words. "Actually… I'd love to be your traveling partner."

Misty stared at him blankly, a blush coming over her face. Ash didn't notice it. "W-What?"

"You heard me," Ash stated, firmer in his words this time. "You seem like a nice person, even under all that snappiness, and that temper of yours… well, it almost rivals mine. It'd be better and safer if we traveled together. What do you say?"

Ash was surprised at his own boldness, but studying Misty's reaction, Ash agreed in his own choice. She was a Gym Leader. She knew her stuff. She was also pretty, in a tomboyish way, plus, it would get lonely on the road. More and more, Ash found himself hoping that she'd say yes. Heat flushed his cheeks red. Maybe it was the fact that he had been standing outside even though he should be resting in a hospital bed and the trauma was getting to him. _Yeah_, that was it.

Silence.

…

…

…

"… no."

"What."

"You h-heard me," Misty repeated, her voice shaky. "No."

"I'll pay back your bike," the boy said, desperate, "and I'm sorry for all those things I said earlier or whatever I did to tick you off."

The girl with green eyes took a deep, shuddering breath, biting her pink lips. "I think someone like you would slow me down."

_Someone like you… someone like you…_

The words repeated themselves in his head, taunting him. He wasn't good enough. Where Ash expected anger came only sadness, and a huge, gaping hole of rejection in forming in his chest. The icy cold of realization numbed his limbs as it ultimately dawned on him that he simply wasn't good enough.

That's why his mother and Oak wanted to stop him from his journey. That's why this random girl he'd just met would reject his offer. He simply wasn't good enough. He was only a meager shadow of what his father had been.

Tears were about to well up in his eyes when something clicked in place.

Where disappointment was, determination's fiery presence burned instead. He'd show them. He'd show everyone that he _was _good enough, that they'd regret ever saying those words to him. His dream of becoming the very best was not lost; no, it was only strengthened.

Without looking once at the girl, Ash took off, once again running away from everything. The only difference between this and Pallet Town was that he had Bagon by his side, resting up in a pokeball. Convinced that this was the only way to go, Ash took off into the wilderness, not hearing the cries from Misty asking for his Pokegear number.

Suddenly, his medicine or something wore off, and pain struck him like a freight train. Ash stumbled forwards, grabbing onto a tree to hold himself up. He felt like he had to vomit, and his head was bursting with fever. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to run into the wilderness, after all, the doctor had said that he shouldn't be up until tomorrow.

_Going back is not an option_, Ash decided, his vision blurring. His gut instinct told him, besides throwing up, to continue forwards. He'd have to toughen it out, and although Ash wasn't exactly in the best shape of his life, nor was he the pinnacle of human strength, the boy trudged onwards, never looking back.

It was this that sent events sprawling out of control. It was the actions of a few people that set fire to Ash's heart. He would rise above them all and eventually grow to overshadow even his father, becoming the very first Pokemon Master the world has ever seen.

But for now, a lonely little boy wandered the forest with nothing but a Bagon by his side.

* * *

**Hello again ladies and gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed this prologue. The next chapter will be a time skip and introduce new characters into the story.**

**If you liked it, follow it. If you loved it, favorite it. Please drop a review and let me know what you like, what you dislike, and what you'd like to see in the future.**

**Have a nice day.**


	2. New Friends

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for the feedback and reviews and PMs! I never expected so many people to like this story, with over 50 follows, 30 favorites, and 20 reviews! WARNING: There is a slight time skip of a few weeks.**

**Ages**

**Ash: 10**

**Brock: 14**

**Misty: 11**

**Damien: 12**

* * *

AU. Instead of receiving a Pikachu as his starter, Ash Ketchum is only given an empty pokeball and a sheepish grin from Professor Oak. Anger and spite clouding his soul, he sets out only to find a ray of hope in the form of a small, injured Bagon. It's funny how a tiny twist of fate can change one's destiny forever. Dark, smarter Ash – various shippings included.

* * *

The Wanderer

**Chapter I**

"Geodude, use Rollout!"

The rock pokemon curled into a ball and rolled forwards towards a Charmander. The fire pokemon squealed and panicked before his trainer issued a dodge order. The Charmander quickly dove out of the way, standing up slowly when it was suddenly struck from behind by the second stage of the Rollout.

"But how?" the Charmander's trainer demanded, watching with a crestfallen gaze as his pokemon fainted. He returned his starter back into its pokeball.

His opponent grinned, his squinty eyes growing even thinner. "Rollout has the opportunity to hit five times, and each strike grows stronger and faster. It was a good battle, by the way. Rest up at the nearest Pokemon Center and return tomorrow if you wish. The Pewter Gym will always be open for trainers."

The challenger nodded with a grateful smile and took off, leaving the rocky battlefield only to have another trainer take his place.

The kid, maybe ten based on his height, wore a plain red, black, and white outfit with a Pokemon League hat resting upon spiky black hair. There was only a single pokeball hanging from his belt, which was immediately removed by a hand with fingerless gloves on it.

"Hello, challenger!" the Gym Leader called, waving his hand. The hat's lid was blocking his view on the shorter kid's face. "Welcome to Pewter City's gym. My name is Brock, trainer of rock type pokemon. I assume you're here for the badge."

Brock's challenger nodded, not saying a word. _Strange_… the Gym Leader thought. He shook his growing unease off. Something was _different _about this boy. After explaining the rules to the new challenger, Brock pulled out his own pokemon.

"Go, Geodude!" the Gym Leader called, throwing his pokeball forward. His Geodude was completely fine after the last battle, so Brock felt no need to heal him at a Pokemon Center. After watching the Geodude pop out of the pokeball, Brock's opponent lifted his head up just enough for the Gym Leader to see his lips form into a confident smirk.

Wordlessly, almost lazily, a shining flash escaped from his challenger's pokeball. Brock's jaw almost hit the ground at the sight.

It was a Bagon. Although it was obviously smaller than the average size of the species, this Bagon was unique. Brock had never seen anything like it before. See, typical Bagon have a gray dome on its head and blue and yellow bodies. This one, however, was a molten gold where blue should be, and an ebony black where the other colors should've been. It stared down his Geodude with uncanny intelligence brimming in its inky eyes.

"Where did you get this Bagon?" Brock asked, curiosity overcoming his thirst for battle. "I've never seen anything like it. I thought they stayed in Hoenn."

Only then did his challenger break his silence. "I saved her life and she saved mine," he answered simply, the undisguised eagerness resonating in his voice. "We became friends and she decided to travel with me."

"But it's _gold!_" Brock all but shouted, slightly exasperated with the lack of detail in the other boy's explanation. "Pokemon aren't _gold_. Even shiny Bagon are green!"

The boy laughed, barely a trace of true mirth behind the dry chuckle. "Yeah, well… let's just say she's special, isn't she?"

As if the Bagon could understand his trainer's words, it snorted, as if saying, _hurry up, let's get this battle over with_.

"But – "

"Listen," the boy interrupted, leaving Brock's mouth hanging open once again, "I'm here for the Boulder Badge. If you really want to, we can chitchat later and you can ask all the questions you want. Deal?"

The Gym Leader nodded and reigned in his curiosity, preparing himself for the battle. His Geodude was getting restless, after all. He waited patiently for the challenger to make the first move, but no commands came. They were waiting for him to strike.

"Well, if you're not gonna go first, I guess I'll go instead! Geodude, use Tackle!"

His opponent said nothing as the Geodude soared towards his Bagon. Once the two pokemon were about to collide, an order sprang from Bagon's trainer. "Dodge, then use Focus Energy!"

With surprising speed, the Bagon rolled out of the way and began to glow, channeling all of its energy. Brock, noticing the danger, barked out a command for his pokemon. "Defense Curl!"

His Geodude curled into a ball, hugging itself with its arms to further protect itself. "Defense isn't going to save you now," Brock's opponent muttered, barely loud enough for the Gym Leader to hear, "Bagon, Iron Head!"

"What?" Brock cried, watching the black dome of the dragon pokemon glow before zooming towards Geodude, moving far faster than any Bagon should. It was _not _supposed to know that move. "Geodude, dodge it!"

The rock pokemon made an effort to move, but Defense Curl had already slowed it down. Brock watched helplessly as the super effective Iron Head, coupled with Focus Energy, smashed into Geodude, resulting in a massively damaging critical hit. The Gym Leader winced as he heard a loud _crack _come from the attack, followed by his Geodude flying backwards and slamming into the rock wall, a curtain of dust surrounding its body.

"Geodude, return!" Brock called, not even bothering to see if it was still conscious. No rock type could survive that attack. The red beam recaptured his pokemon as he mused silently on how to defeat the other trainer. Brock underestimated his opponent, a mistake for which his own pokemon had paid the price for.

The kid was smart. He knew how to chain together moves and how to use another pokemon's disadvantages against them. "You did well," Brock started, pulling out another pokeball from his belt, "but let's see how well you do against – "

"_ONIX!" _the pokemon roared, emerging from the pokeball in a brilliant flash of energy. The massive twenty-eight foot long snake was entirely composed of large rocks, with a sharper spike protruding from its head.

"Rock Tomb!" Brock roared, determined not to loose this match. Onix smashed its tail into the ground, sending large boulders flying up into the air and crashing down upon the smaller Bagon.

Although facing a much larger opponent, the tiny (in comparison) Bagon didn't flinch when it started to hail rocks. His opponent remained as unfazed as his pokemon. "Bagon, use Brick Break on those rocks and then use Hone Claws."

A large rock flew at the Bagon, roughly three times its size. The small dragon pokemon cocked its arm back, glowing dimly with suppressed energy, and smashed the rock to pieces before quickly rolling through the hole in the Rock Tomb and to safety. Then, a malicious glint appeared on its stubby arms, but nothing else happened.

Brock was slightly annoyed by his inability to land a hit on the smaller pokemon. "Smack Down, quickly!"

The Onix roared, voicing his consent, and raised its tail, preparing to crush the smaller pokemon. The trainer's Bagon did nothing but stand in the shadow of the massive tail, watching it come closer and _closer _–

"Bagon, Rock Smash on the part of the Onix that's touching the ground."

"No!" Brock all but shrieked, "Onix, either get out of there or finish the move!"

It was too late. In using Smack Down, Brock's Onix had revealed his most vulnerable spot, namely the group of rocks that acted as the pokemon's legs if it were to have any. His challenger's Bagon's attack was too quick to avoid; Brock, just like before with Geodude, could only watch helplessly as the Bagon, powered by both Hone Claws and Focus Energy, slammed his arm into the unsuspecting rock monster's weakest point.

The damage was instantaneous. _It's like getting the wind knocked out of you_, Brock thought, horror making its presence known, _and then getting your balls smashed by a hammer, over and over again but then having all that pain being condensed into one blow._

Onix roared in pain, its tail coming down uselessly as Bagon danced out of the way, using its smaller size to its advantage. The rock type fell to the side, resulting in a mighty crash. Dust flew up, clouding the Gym Leader's view, but even without knowing whether it could still fight or not, Brock withdrew his pokemon, forfeiting the match.

He wanted to win, but not at the cost of his pokemon's life.

**– Ω –**

"So how _did _you get your pokemon to become so strong?"

Brock stuffed his face with food after asking the question, glancing at his ex-opponent, now shy friend, whose name he was reluctant to give. Brock didn't press for any more information, noticing the younger boy's obvious discomfort around people he hadn't met.

They sat in a booth at a diner that Brock frequented at after he closed the Gym for the night. Noticing the other trainer didn't seem to have a place to go, Brock invited him along for dinner. After all, they had a deal.

"I trained her," the boy answered, toying with his Bagon's pokeball. His food hadn't arrived yet, so in his free hand he rubbed his new Boulder Badge before putting back into his badge case. "I only kept her in her pokeball when we went into the city for supplies."

"So do you travel?" Brock continued, gulping down a large mouthful of water.

His friend shook his head. "I traveled here to Pewter a few weeks ago. I spent my days training Bagon in the hills and sleeping in the wilderness, only to come in every now and then for stuff," he answered, eyes widening in delight as his meal arrived.

"But what type of training did you guys undergo?" the curious Gym leader asked again. "I mean, the raw speed and power…"

"Yeah, we worked on that." His buddy tried belittling the compliment, but failed when Brock noticed the pride in his voice. "Day after day, I guess we just worked more on the basics rather than perfecting the moves, although being stronger _does _make it easier to execute them."

The trainer paused, taking a small bite from his dinner before continuing. "I bought ropes from the stores in Pewter," he continued, "and found some large rocks littered among the hills. It took some trial and error, but in the end, I managed to tie some small boulders to Bagon's legs, body, and arms. _Then _we started training."

Brock raised an eyebrow at the trainer's unconventional training methods, but didn't say anything else. It was a little odd, and maybe even a tad bit _cruel_, but it definitely worked.

"You might think that it's a cruel training method," the other stated, reading Brock like an open book, "but Bagon didn't care. I told her what it would be like, how hard and tiring it might be, but she readily accepted the challenge. When she ran uphill, I'd run with her. When she slid downhill, I slid down with her. And when she'd jump off a cliff and dream of flying, well, that's where it stopped."

The older boy chuckled at the joke, glad to find something where he could get his quiet friend to spill. Apparently, the young trainer was extremely passionate about his pokemon and his unorthodox methods.

"I found that training alongside her helped us bond," the boy proceeded, completely forgetting about the food. "So I kept her out of her pokeball, basically doing everything with my Bagon as I increased the size and weight of the boulders. I think, in the end, she was running and jumping around with all the rocks totaling twice her weight. She's smaller than most Bagon, but she's got the drive to make up for it.

"Every night, before I went to sleep…" there the boy paused, as if deciding to tell Brock this piece of information. "… I'd talk to her," he said, timidly, "and tell her about my dreams and goals." He stopped, hoping that Brock didn't make fun of him for talking to his pokemon.

Brock was silent. "I respect that," he finally said. "Not many people are able to train their pokemon so hard and yet retain such a firm relationship."

The boy chuckled mirthlessly, reminiscent of his earlier laugh in the Gym. It wasn't natural and sounded forced, something that troubled Brock. He could tell that the young trainer was a little bit more troubled than most, but Brock wasn't one to pry. If he didn't feel comfortable talking about it, so be it.

The conversation died off, only the sound of chewing and sipping breaking the silence. Brock watched as the kid scarfed down his entire meal in mere seconds, offering an apologetic smile when he burped. The Gym Leader took this as an opportunity to restart the conversation.

"Do you travel alone?" Brock asked, drawing on the obvious conclusion.

"Well, no, considering the fact that Bagon's always there with me," he answered, checking with his hands if his pokeball was still by his side.

Brock nearly face palmed, but opted for another question. "Doesn't she get lonely being all alone out there in the wild without a traveling companion?"

The look on the other's face told Brock that he had stepped over an unspoken line. Fiery eyes stared at him, before a response was forced out behind gritted teeth. "I don't _need _a traveling companion. My pokemon are better than the company of a human's."

"You only have one, though."

"And that's enough," the cryptic boy retorted, his tone sharp. "My father traveled through Kanto alone. I don't see why I can't do the same."

"Your father?" Brock's curiosity peaked. He received no answer. Sighing, the Gym Leader pushed forward another tentative question, knowing full well that he was in dangerous waters. "Did something happen in your past?"

Suddenly, the boy opposite of him stood up. Brock groaned internally. He _knew _that question went to far. Its not that Brock was insensitive, after all, he grew up in a large household where secrets were almost nonexistent. _I guess we didn't know each other well enough then_, Brock contemplated.

"I appreciate your courtesy in paying for my meal," the other informed in a flat tone, "but I'm afraid I have to leave. I'm travelling to Vermillion City to take on their gym."

Shocked at the sudden desire to leave, Brock could only manage a "but Cerulean City is where the next Gym is."

A mirthless grin. "Yeah, but I'm avoiding it. Bad vibes, you know?"

The boy left the booth, walking towards the exit. There was a black backpack slung over his left shoulder, bulging with food and potions. But that wasn't what caught Brock's attention. There was a little nametag that glinted in the light of the diner, only noticeable when one was looking for it. It read: _Ash Ketchum._

Brock whistled, finally finding out the name of the quiet trainer. "Well I'll be damned…"

**– Ω –**

Misty returned to her position as Gym Leader.

She took the position from her less-than-competent sisters and let them focus on modeling and doing commercials. After all, they were famous for their mermaid-like allure and beauty. Her oldest sister even made it into the singing business.

There weren't a lot of reasons that caused Misty to return to Cerulean, in fact, for the past few weeks she wondered why she even went back in the first place. But really, it was simple.

In Viridian, she received a call from her sisters. A whole lot of pleading and a whole lot of insults later, Misty found out that the Waterflower sisters were so terrible at battling that they almost ran out of badges to give away. Something _had _to be done about that. Misty would not let her family name be associated with terrible trainers.

And… there was something else. She felt terrible after the event in Viridian. Having grown up as the youngest of many children and homeschooled in Cerulean, it was safe to say that Misty didn't have many friends. As soon as she got her trainer's license, Misty became dedicated to her water pokemon, quickly surpassing her sisters in prowess. She spent all of her time either training or battling until she grew so sick of it that she ran away in hopes of finding friends and going on an adventure.

But life didn't work out like that. First she went to Pewter City, battled the nice gym leader, Brock, and made friends with him. Yet he was a Gym Leader, so Misty didn't even bother to ask him to be her traveling companion. So she continued onwards, crawling through a _filthy_, _vermin-filled hellhole _of a forest to Viridian City, and then along the grassy flatlands of Route 1 to receive a Pokedex from a kind Professor Oak. Everything was going fine, that is, until _Ash Ketchum _wrecked her bike and passed out.

Then she took him and his pokemon to the Pokemon Center in Viridian, only to have him wake up a day later, get into a massive argument due to her terrible temper, and then leave. Back then, she was too angry to see the mistake she made, but when the reality came, it struck her like a train. Misty had blatantly thrown away a golden opportunity, just because she couldn't swallow her pride and contain her own temper.

That was what caused Misty to deem her entire adventure a massive failure, and decided to return to Cerulean until she managed to mature. Plus, there was a small hope within her that Ash would come to Cerulean to challenge the gym for its Cascade Badge.

But her fantasy was, in the end, just a fool's dream. Ash never came. And while a smug side of Misty told herself that the reason for his absence was that he wasn't a good enough trainer and couldn't control his Bagon, something else told her that he was purposefully avoiding the gym.

Maybe it was curiosity, maybe it was something more, but it was definitely _something _that forced her hand in calling Brock.

"_Hello."_

"Hey Brock," Misty greeted, holding the Pokegear up to her ear. "It's Misty. Remember me?"

"_Hi Misty! I'm kinda surprised that you called."_

Misty flushed red; glad that there was no way Brock could see her. She forgot that they weren't exactly _great _friends, more like oh-we-met-once type of friends. "Yeah, I'm surprised myself."

"_So, why did you call?"_

_That's Brock, so down to earth_, Misty thought. She laughed silently at her own pun. "I was wondering if you had a trainer pass by."

Brock snorted. _"Well, a lot of trainers 'pass by' the Pewter Gym. You've got to be more specific."_

"Um," Misty deadpanned, searching her mind for his appearance, "well he's – "

"_Ooh, it's a he. Tell me more."_

"It's not like that!" Misty shrieked, mumbling a meek apology when she realized she had just screamed right into the Gym Leader's ear. "Anyways… he's got a hat on, uh, black pants, a shirt I think, and fingerless gloves."

There was silence on the other side of the line. _"You realize that you just described fifty percent of the trainers that come through here… um, maybe his pokemon?"_

"Oh yeah," Misty breathed, mentally slapping herself, "he had a Bagon. It's really indescribable, one-of-a-kind – "

"_Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" _Misty could hear Brock laughing on his side of the phone. _"Could've saved a lot of trouble_._"_

Misty let loose a nervous chuckle. "Well yeah, I guess. Have you seen him?"

"_Seen him?" _Pewter City's Brock was a master of sarcasm. If Misty wasn't controlling herself, insults would've already been flying. _"He whooped my butt a week ago. Took him three minutes tops to take the Boulder Badge, and afterwards we talked over some dinner." _His voice lowered significantly. _"You do realize who he is?"_

"Yeah, Ash Ketchum," Misty snapped, "Red's son."

"_You know that his father disappeared three years ago, right?"_

Misty felt uncomfortable talking about this subject. Ash's father wasn't the only dad to abandon a family. "Yeah. Who wouldn't? It was headlines everywhere, even in Sinnoh."

"_So, what about Ash?"_

"I was just wondering if you knew where he was going next…" Misty hinted, sitting on her comfortable bed. This conversation was longer than she thought it would be.

"_He said that he was going straight to Vermillion," _Brock informed. Misty felt her hopes plummet and smash into the unforgiving face of reality. _"Apparently, he's avoiding Cerulean." _Something clicked in the male trainer. _"Wait, Misty, you and Ash. Did you – "_

"Thanks, Brock. Bye!"

With a click, the conversation ended. And so did any hope of her seeing Ash Ketchum again. It definitely wasn't that she _liked _him and wanted to see him again… it was just that he was an intriguing person of great potential. Yeah, that was it.

Plus, she didn't want him to wander the world alone.

**– Ω –**

Ash was almost a quarter through with Route 5 when the storm hit.

It left him soaked to the bone, huddled underneath a makeshift tent, and barely warmed by a fire that Bagon had managed to start due to Ember. The pokemon in question had decided to go out and play in the rain, and Ash, deciding that it would help further strengthen his pokemon's resistance towards water attacks, let her go have fun. He trusted her to return.

The young boy leaned back, listening to the rain hit the top of his tent, and rested his head on his backpack. His sleeping mat was already rolled out underneath him, leaving a backpack full of pokeballs, food, and potions the best pillow available.

The fact that it was only seven at night left Ash wide awake, and ultimately, his thoughts began to wander. The two day journey through Route 3 was uneventful, but the caves of Mt. Moon offered good shelter and a magnificent training ground, with boulders of all different shapes and sizes to practice attacks on. Each day, Ash walked with Bagon, keeping the pokemon company as she dragged sizeable rocks that were now almost two and a half times his own weight.

During their four-day rest at the caves of Mt. Moon, Ash had managed to teach Bagon the move Dragon Claw, a powerful dragon type move. Bagon learned the move easily, mastering it within a few hours. Then came the long and difficult challenge of teaching her Double Team, where they spent three days learning it.

Lacking experience or advice, the best Ash could do was, "Uh, try and move really fast." Needless to say, it was easier said than done. But in the end, Bagon had managed to create a double image, and Ash deemed the days of effort a success.

Then the day came where they traveled through Route 4, Bagon doing a brisk jog with his usual load of rocks, and Ash jogging alongside it. A day came by and withered away, and on the dawn of a new day Ash found himself in Cerulean.

After buying the necessary equipment, he left an hour later. Word was on the street that the youngest of the Waterflowers, Misty, had returned as Gym Leader.

A day and a half later, Ash found his process impeded by a massive storm system moving in from Sinnoh. It wasn't like he was in a rush or anything, but Ash wanted to complete the eight gyms in time to compete in the Pokemon League Conference at the Indigo Plateau. And then from there on, who knows? Ash had always wanted to explore the other four regions.

Why not sweep all five of the region's PLCs? And then he could challenge the Elite Fours and defeat them as well, moving on to defeat the four champions of the regions, Lance, Wallace, Cynthia, and Alder to become the best of the best, a master amongst trainers everywhere.

That was his dream. And no one was going to tell him otherwise.

Ash sighed happily, listening to the peaceful rain fall onto the greenery around him. It was calming to his nerves, which were just hyped with adrenaline just by _thinking _about becoming the Pokemon Master.

_Bagon hasn't been back for a while_, Ash thought, worried. Although he was sure that the dragon pokemon could handle herself against wild pokemon, what if something worse happened? What if poachers or thieves got to the shiny pokemon? Ash was about to start looking for her when the pokemon in question suddenly popped up, emerging from the bushes.

"Hey, Bagon," Ash called out, patting the dry spot next to him. But his Bagon didn't budge. Something was wrong.

Ash emerged from his tent and immediately the pokemon took off. Without any weights to slow her down, the pokemon was ridiculously fast, especially for a pokemon that wasn't known for its speed. The trainer barely managed to follow the flash of gold through the forest until he finally emerged into a clearing, where, to Ash's utmost shock, he found his Bagon huddling over something.

Upon closer inspection, Ash found that Bagon was protecting a pokemon, but which one? As whimpering emanated from the obviously wounded pokemon, Ash pulled out his Pokedex and pointed it towards the half-covered pokemon. Immediately, the automated voice rang out, and Ash strained his ears to listen to its words.

"_Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon, is a native of Kanto and a Fire type pokemon,"_ the voice read. Ash realized that this could've been one of his pokemon had he arrived on time to Oak's Laboratory. It was one of the starter pokemon of Kanto. _"From the time it is born, a flame burns at the tip of its tail. The flame at the tip of its tail makes a sound as it burns. You can only hear it in quiet places, and its life would end if the flame were to go out."_

Horror clamped down on his stomach with its vice-like grip. The Charmander's flame was almost nonexistent. Without thinking, really, Ash scooped up the little pokemon into his hands and sprinted back to his little campsite with Bagon closely trailing behind. He gently placed it in the dry spot that his makeshift tent covered and cleared everything else out. Then, taking some dry wood that was stored in his backpack, Ash stacked them over the dwindling fire.

"Bagon, use Ember."

The dragon pokemon knew exactly what to do, and a stream of fire sent the little bonfire blazing. Taking the Charmander's tail, he gently dropped it into the fire where the Charmander visibly relaxed, its tired eyes getting some energy back into them.

"Bagon," Ash called, gently rubbing the Charmander's head, "Go into the dry spot. I need you to maintain this flame so that this Charmander can survive until this storm ends."

His pokemon obeyed his order, stepping underneath the tent and stared at him quizzically, as if saying_, aren't you going to come, too_?

"You stay there. There's not enough space for all three of us," the now soaked boy reassured, "I'll brave the weather. It's not that bad, really." Boy, what a lie that was.

For an indeterminable amount of time, Ash just sat there, stroking the Charmander's head, focusing on the heat coming from the small fire, and Bagon just breathing fire every time the blaze looked like it weakened. But no matter how cold it was, Ash knew he would suffer through it all after receiving a grateful look from Charmander before a watery tear escaped from its eye.

But its temperature was dropping. That, for a fire type, was obviously not good.

"Bagon, I'm gonna need something more," Ash murmured, sleepiness sneaking up on him even though there were large droplets of water falling on him nonstop. "If not, I don't think the Charmander is going to make it."

Bagon nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation, before closing her eyes, concentrating hard. Then she opened her mouth wide and – nothing. Not even a tiny little flame. Not even a small – "_AAAAAAH!"_

That scream tore out of Ash's mouth when a powerful flame spilled from Bagon's mouth, coating the fire pokemon in blistering hot flames and nearly burning Ash. He rolled away and marveled at Bagon's newest attack, Flamethrower, before checking and making sure that the powerful little pokemon hadn't burned his backpack.

Luckily, the backpack was too wet and too far away to catch flame. When the fire died down a little bit and the bonfire at the end of Charmander's tail blazed with fire merrily, Ash decided it was safe again to resume petting the pokemon. It suffered a little bit of damage from receiving the attack, but it helped the lizard pokemon more than it hurt it. The Charmander's temperature was extremely high and fever-like, which was good for a fire type pokemon.

"Heh," Ash chuckled, staring at his shiny pokemon, "nice one, Bagon."

"_Bagon!" _the pokemon chirped almost snidely, offering a smirk. She blew another Ember towards the lizard pokemon, coating it in heat. Ash basked in the glow of the flame, suddenly feeling sleepy despite the heavy torrent cascading upon him. He was sure to have a cold in the morning, but to him, it was worth it as long as the Charmander survived.

"Hey, buddy?" Ash scratched the pokemon's head, causing it to glance up at him with weary eyes. "Tomorrow, we're hightailing it back to Cerulean and healing you up. Then I'll find whoever abandoned you and… well…" Ash left the threat hanging in the air.

"_Char," _it whimpered in agreement.

Ash yawned, leaning against the trunk of a tree, and closed his eyes…

… only to open them to dry weather and daytime.

Shocked by the sudden change, Ash jumped up, smashing his head against a low lying tree branch and crumpling to the ground, his muscles groaning in angry protest as he realized that he had somehow fallen asleep.

He glanced over at the two pokemon with him and was relieved to find Bagon and the Charmander asleep, and a smaller-than-normal yet still better-than-yesterday flame shining proudly on the pokemon's tail. They looked so peaceful, with the sunlight shining off of Bagon's golden skin like a mirror, truly giving her a reason to be called a "shiny" pokemon.

"_ACHOO!" _Ash sneezed, startling his two companions. He rubbed his now half stuffy half running nose and groaned, knowing the symptoms of a cold. Checking his Pokegear, Ash found that it was seven in the morning. There was ample time to get to Cerulean, but Ash wanted to hurry to restore the Charmander to full health.

Quickly packing up his gear and returning Bagon to her pokeball, Ash took the time to spray the pokemon with a potion. Then, without pausing for a rest, he scooped up the Charmander and took off in a sprint towards Cerulean. On the way, he saw curious trainers and travelers glancing at the pokemon cradled in his arms, but he ignored them and continued on the way to the city. Luckily, he hadn't gone very far down Route 5, so he made it to Cerulean by ten, panting and sweating like crazy as his sprint had turned into a jog about an hour ago.

Ash burst into the Pokemon Center, scaring all of the people within with his haggard and wild appearance. Nothing stood in between the way of him and the front counter, so he quickly ran to a Nurse Joy handed her the Charmander.

"Please, Nurse Joy, you've got to help him," Ash barely managed to squeeze out, still panting heavily from the running. "I found him out in the rain – _ACHOO! – _last night and… and…" At this, Ash had a coughing fit.

"I'll fix him up," the nurse assured. "The damage doesn't look as bad as it should be if he had been out in the rain all night. Meanwhile, go to the front desk and get something for your cold. And don't worry about the Charmander, he'll be fine."

"Thank you." Ash breathed a massive sigh of relief as he heard that the pokemon would be okay. He slowly made his way back to the front desk and received some medicine that should help him with his cold, completely free of charge. Feeling a little bit better, Ash got his Bagon checked, where he was told that she was completely fine.

Then he busied himself with hiding in the corner of the Pokemon Center, hat drawn down just in case a certain Gym Leader sauntered in. He didn't want anything to do with Misty.

He was about to doze off when an interesting conversation suddenly entered his hearing.

"Damien, what about that Charmander you left out there in the rain?"

"Nah, don't worry bout it. He was a weakling anyway. I've got a much stronger team now."

Ash's eyes snapped open, instantly standing up as he made his way towards the two people having the conversation. Or, to be more clear, one boy with spiky blue hair, probably Damien, lounging on a sofa while a group of three followers hung on to every word he said. Ash knew Damien from Pallet Town. The older trainer had embarked on his journey a few years before Ash had. They weren't friends but weren't enemies, either, but this incident pushed their relationship to the sour side.

"But don't you think it'll die? That was a pretty powerful storm."

"Like I said, don't worry bout it. He's probably still sitting there, in that _exact _same spot that I told him to stay, and probably still thinking that I'd come back for it! Isn't that just the funniest joke?"

His three followers laughed, and Damien let out a loud, boisterous laugh. It was then when Ash snapped.

"Hey Damien!"

Said boy turned to stare at Ash before his eyes widened in realization. "_Ash Ketchum? _What are you doing here?"

At the words of _Ash Ketchum_, everybody in the Center stared at Ash, knowing very well who his father was. _This is exactly why I'm going to start people that I'm just Ash_, the boy decided, hating the feeling of one hundred eyes on him.

Well, he couldn't disappoint. "I'm here because I just brought back _your Charmander_ back from the brink of death and delivered him to the hospital." Ash's tone was obvious, raw anger causing him to snarl when he said "your Charmander."

Damien looked abashed at the sudden attention. "Charmander? What Charmander?"

"_Ooooh_," Ash sprawled, drawing out the word. _"What Charmander?"_ he mimicked, pretending to sound like an idiot, which Damien apparently was. "Oh, just the one that you left to _die in the rain!_"

Fired up and angry, Damien struck back. "Oh yeah? That Charmander was weak anyway. I have _no idea _how such a pokemon could even be given to trainers as a starter. My team is much more powerful and better of without it."

"Your pokemon is weak because you haven't bothered to train it!" Ash snapped, clenching his fists. "You threw it aside the moment another seemingly more powerful pokemon showed up! Its weakness is only a reflection on your failure as a trainer."

The blue haired boy was left speechless for a while, face contorting in an effort to think of a comeback. "Well, at least I _got _a starter! You didn't even get one! Everyone in Pallet Town knows the story, Ash. I doubt you even have a pokemon," he finished triumphantly.

A scary smile made its way onto Ash's face. For once, the entire Pokemon Center was silent, listening to their conversation. "I have one," he responded, unclipping his pokeball from his belt and enlarging it. "Let's just see how _powerful _your team is," Ash challenged as mockingly as possible.

Flustered, Damien stood up from his seat. "Fine then! If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get!"

The two stormed outside, followed by a good chunk of the people in the Pokemon Center, all eager to see how the son of Kanto's Champion battles with pokemon. They settled for a clearing in the woods, and people crowded a safe distance away. Damien unclipped one pokeball out of five from his belt. Ash knew one of those pokeballs was the Charmander's, which told him that the blue haired nitwit had a total of four pokemon.

"When I win," Damien stated, arrogance poorly disguised in his voice, "you'll give me all of your money!"

"And when you loose and whine like a little baby," Ash snarled, "you'll give me your Charmander!"

"Deal, I don't want that pokemon anyways. Go, Pidgeotto!" Damien shrieked. He took the pokeball in his hand and threw it, revealing a Pidgeotto, slightly larger than most of its species. That was probably why Damien had it.

Ash looked at the pokeball in his hand. "Show 'em how it's done, Bagon."

A blinding white flash revealed the shiny pokemon, her golden skin once again shining in the sunlight while her black patches seemed to suck in any light that touched it. A collective gasp rang through the crowd as they marveled at the unique shiny pokemon. Damien's mouth was slightly wide with shock.

"Well?" Ash yelled, waving at Damien. "Are we going to battle or are you going to stand there, swallowing flies?"

The blue haired trainer shook his head, and Ash marveled at how ridiculous blue hair was, not knowing that his opinion was going to change at the sight of Dawn Berlitz.

"Pidgeotto, let's finish this quick. Steel Wing!" The Pidgeotto cawed in response, its wings turning white as it zoomed forward.

"Double team twice, then dodge," Ash responded calmly, a stark contrast to his blazing temper before. He always kept his cool during a pokemon battle.

Bagon split into two images, and then the images split into another two, resulting in four Bagons rolling out of the way as the Pidgeotto came flying through, not hitting a single thing.

Ash sighed in disappointment. He expected the Pidgeotto to be faster, but no, Damien had picked it just for its size. And that was a disadvantage disguised as an advantage. "Bagon, Hone Claws and Focus Energy."

"Who would use a non-damaging move?" Damien asked, incredulous, as if the mere thought of boosting one's stats before attacking was ridiculous. "And three times in a row? Pidgeotto, let's show these fools how to battle. Twister!"

_Twister, a dragon type move, _Ash mused, knowing that it was effective against Bagon's dragon type. But Ash didn't have to worry; it would never hit Bagon in the first place.

"Bagon, dodge. Surround the Pidgeotto," Ash commanded, watching with slight amusement as all four Bagon responded to his command. He, of course, could tell which one was the real one.

Damien was slow on his feet. He was mulling over what to do since he came in with a set battle strategy, and now that things were spiraling out of control, Damien was at a loss of what to do. Maybe he'd just let his powerful pokemon tank it through.

"Bagon, Rock Tomb." All four Bagon slammed their feet into the ground; large rocks flying upwards and then back down towards the bird pokemon due to gravity.

"What?" Damien yelled, recognizing the super effective move. "Pidgeotto, get out of there!"

Panicking, the Pidgeotto was completely surrounded by rocks. Of course, three of the attacks were fake, but it didn't know which one was real. So it took its best guess and flew away… straight into the real attack.

The first rock hit the pokemon's body, causing it to spiral out of control. Pidgeotto crashed into the ground painfully, another rock slamming into its outstretched wings. The onslaught didn't stop there, with the most devastating impact going straight to the bird's head for a critical hit only Focus Energy could pull off.

The crowd cheered slightly, and Damien looked shocked. "Get up, Pidgeotto!"

"Give it up," Ash responded instead, "he's clearly knocked out. Even if he was still conscious, there's no way that it could continue battling."

"Fine," the boy huffed, retrieving Pidgeotto. "It was one of my weakest pokemon anyways. Go, Kadabra!"

The psychic pokemon lazily rolled out, its kite-shaped face peering curiously at the four Bagon. With a wave of its spoon, the three false Bagon disappeared, leaving the original dragon alone. Ash looked on, silently cursing himself for not teaching Bagon Shadow Claw when he had the chance.

"Kadabra, Confusion!"

Bagon, even without Ash's command, rolled out of the way of the slow attack. Damien was going to have to do a lot better if he wanted to even touch Bagon.

"For Arceus's Sake, hit him! Psybeam!"

"Dodge, then counter with a Dragon Breath," Ash ordered, letting out a small sigh of relief when his trusty pokemon managed to dodge the fast moving attack.

Instantly, a draconian roar escaped the small pokemon's mouth and a blueish tinted version of a small Hyper Beam exploded forth, knocking the unprepared Kadabra on its back. As it got up slowly, shaking slightly from the direct hit, Ash decided to end it right there and then. Bagon's physical attacks were always stronger than his ranged ones.

"Close the distance quickly and use Dragon Claw."

It was a wonder how panicked Damien was. It was almost laughable when compared to Ash's cool exterior, even though his heart was boiling with the heat of battle. "Quickly Kadabra, Pyscho Cut to counter!"

The two attacks met and held each other for a brief second, but then Bagon's attack quickly gained the upper hand due to Bagon's training and the Hone Claws from earlier. The boost allowed Bagon's Dragon Claw to pull off an uppercut on the psychic pokemon, resulting in the Kadabra being launched into the air and a bloody slash being drawn across its face. When it fell back down, Damien's Kadabra was barely hanging onto consciousness when its stomach, bruised from the Dragon Breath, was introduced to Bagon's other Dragon Claw, which landed a powerful blow on the psychic's vulnerable stomach.

Kadabra didn't stand a chance. It lay unconscious where it fell. Bagon danced away, chattering excitedly. It was then when Ash realized that his pokemon had just warmed up.

A while ago, during their stay at Mt. Moon, Ash discovered Bagon's devastating ability: _Moxie_. With each pokemon Bagon defeats, it only grows stronger and stronger. It wasn't an ability unique to the Bagon evolution tree, but it _was _a rare one nevertheless. And one look at Bagon told Ash that she was reaping the benefits of her ability. She looked stronger than when she had started out.

"No matter," Damien said, fear creeping into his voice. He retrieved his unconscious pokemon before a new one took its place. "Rattata, finish what we started."

Ash didn't even wait for the words to come out of Damien's mouth. "Feint, then Brick Break."

Bagon, not needing to acknowledge the command, rushed forward with unnatural speed and feinted with her left arm. The Rattata fell for the feint and jumped backwards, only to get smashed in the face by the real attack. The super effective move was once again powered up by Hone Claws, yet the Rattata remained standing, seeing how it was already moving backwards when the blow struck home.

"Rattata, Hyper Fang!"

Ash smirked slightly, a clever plan falling into place. "Bagon, block it with your arm."

The Rattata bit down hard into the pokemon's arm with its fangs and Bagon whimpered slightly, the damage barely worth batting an eyelash at.

"Now, Bagon. Lift it up and use Brick Break on its neck." The pokemon followed Ash's orders to a T, slamming the powerful blow straight into the rat pokemon's neck, resulting in a critical hit. The Rattata's grip on Bagon's arm loosened as it fell, unconscious, to the ground. Once again, Bagon danced away, chitterling excitedly as her body pulsed with faint power. The longer that match was, the more powerful she became.

"Congratulations Ash," Damien said sarcastically, withdrawing his fallen pokemon, "would you like a trophy, just like the one your father got? _Oh yeah_, I forgot, he _abandoned _you! I wonder why…"

Although it was an obvious attempt to anger Ash, the boy's calm exterior remained the same, a poker face hiding it all away. Damien would pay, that, Ash would be sure of. The crowd around them whispered amongst themselves, no doubt about the blue haired boy's uncalled-for insult. Bagon, on the other hand, growled protectively, hearing the malicious intent behind the words.

"Let me show you my most powerful pokemon," Damien bragged, holding a Net Ball. "Let's see how your puny Bagon does to _Gyarados!_"

The massive dual type flashed into existence, giving a massive roar. Its twenty-foot long, snake-like body twisted and turned in the sky, giving testament to its flying type. The Gyarados was easily ten times Bagon's size, but that didn't faze Ash the slightest.

Their orders came out at the exact same time.

"Double Team twice, Focus Energy."

"HYPER BEAM!" Damien roared, a wild look in his eyes. Ash grinned slightly, knowing that, in Damien's thirst for power, he would use this move. It had a significant downside to it, though…

"Dodge, Bagon, then get in close to it," Ash instructed. Bagon only had one chance to pull this off, and if she did, it would be an amazing sight to see. "Come on, buddy, I believe in you!"

Bagon roared, although the roar sounded like a squeak compared to the Gyarados's powerful, yet avoidable, Hyper Beam. The orange attack went clear past Bagon and Ash, uprooting plants and trees when it hit the forest behind them. Then, the next part in Ash's place clicked in place.

"Gyarados, destroy that thing! What are you waiting for?" Ash's opponent cried, watching as his Gyarados struggled to do anything.

At this point, Ash couldn't help but laugh. "Sure, Hyper Beam is one of the most powerful attacks out there. I'm surprised your Gyarados even knew it. But what makes it so unwise to use is that it drains the pokemon's power, only the very strongest being able to recover in seconds."

"Gyarados is the strongest," Damien asserted, and Ash was impressed by his confidence. Was it true confidence or was it just blind arrogance? "Come on, another Hyper Beam!"

"Game over," Ash told his opponent. "Bagon, Rock Tomb."

Damien visibly paled as the supercharged attack, powered by _Moxie_, Focus Energy twice over, and Hone Claws slammed into the water dragon as it recharged, leaving its underbelly wide open to the vicious super effective attack. Time after time the rocks found critical weak points, resulting in a massive, super effective _and _critical hit that was powered by so many different factors that the atrocious pokemon was knocked out in one blow, falling to the ground in an ground-cracking crash.

The crowd, which had grown quite large by now, roared its approval. Damien hung his head in shame, withdrawing his most powerful pokemon. But then his shame morphed into anger. "Here, take the stupid pokeball. You've made a rival today, Ketchum. I'll destroy you one day, just wait!"

At those words, the blue haired trainer threw a pokeball at the ground, bouncing a bit before rolling to a stop at Ash's feet. Then, he turned and walked away, his three followers hanging faithfully at his side.

"You did great, Bagon," Ash said with a real smile. "Have a long rest, girl." With a red beam of energy, his Bagon was swept back into her pokeball.

Then he turned to the Charmander's pokeball and picked it up. Manually opening it, Ash observed the inside of an empty pokeball for a second before snapping it in half, releasing the Charmander from its binding spell. The people who stuck behind gasped, wondering why in the world he would destroy the pokeball.

"I don't want Damien's pokeball," Ash cleared up to no one in particular. "I want the Charmander to join me, not because it has to, but because it _wants _to."

Then he hurried back to the Pokemon Center, annoyed by all the attention he was getting. In his hurry, however, Ash failed to notice a bright plume of orange hair, attached to a girl who was all but screaming his name.

Arriving at the Pokemon Center, Ash busted through the doors and nearly trampled a Nurse Joy, who meekly told him that the pokemon was waiting for him out back. Without waiting for anyone else, Ash found the lizard pokemon sitting dejectedly on a tree stump, curled up in the position that Ash had found it in just a day ago.

"Hey, Charmander," he greeted, watching with amusement as the pokemon instantly jolted to attention, turning around and scurrying over towards Ash. "I took care of Damien and showed him a taste of true power. He never deserved your friendship."

Charmander nodded, whispering a small, _"Char."_

"I broke your pokeball," Ash informed, gauging the fire type's reaction. The Charmander only blinked. "You're free to go, if you want."

Charmander gazed curiously at him, not moving. Ash's grin only grew larger. He pulled out an empty pokeball and held it up to Charmander. "Or, if you really want to, you can join my team. It just consists of me and Bagon right now, but we're the best of friends. You won't be excluded. We'll love you unconditionally anyways. But I can't promise you a pain free world. I told Bagon this and I'll tell you this too… I want you to become the very best, a legend amongst your species. Maybe one day you'll return to Charicific Valley a Charizard and make yourself king – I don't know. But what I do know is that I can help you get there. The training won't be easy, but it will make you strong."

Ash's voice broke down into the quietest of whispers. "This is your chance at glory. Take hold of it."

Without hesitation, Charmander tapped the white button of the pokeball and disappeared into a flash of red light. The ball _dinged_, signifying capture, and Ash pumped his fist high into the air, rejoicing in the new addition to his team. With proper training, Charmander will grow to become a very strong pokemon.

"Well, that was quite a speech there. Are you going to say that every time you catch a pokemon?"

Ash flinched at the voice. He knew it all too well. "Hey to you too, Misty."

"Ash," she greeted. "Tired of wandering the woods?"

The boy had difficultly coming up with an answer. One part of him was still hurt at her rejection and yet the other side wanted to give the offer again. But then again, he was doing just fine without her, and her stupid temper, and her stupid _ponytail_, and her stupid _good looks _– _whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there, Ash_, he mentally chided himself. Ash found himself at a crossroads not knowing which path to travel.

"Hello?" Misty called, uncomfortable with the lack of response.

Ash decided to go a neutral way and carve another path for himself. "Why'd you come?"

"What?" the girl squirmed, her face flushing.

"I mean, you could've full out avoided me," Ash explained, fiddling with his hat, "and I was just wondering why you came to find me."

Misty's temper looked like it was rising, but she managed to contain a lid on it. "I watched the battle. As Cerulean's Gym Leader, I had to make sure nobody got hurt."

"Well, if you saw me, how and why did I win?" the boy quizzed, a smirk etched on his face. He didn't like tooting his own horn, but Ash had just wanted to make sure that Misty was actually there.

The girl growled, clearly frustrated, but didn't explode or snap at him. "Damien had strong pokemon, but they weren't trained. They were slow to react and didn't have a lot of experience; in fact, I would even go so far as to say that he didn't evolve them, instead choosing to catch their evolved forms. He just tried to tank his way through. But you, on the other hand, used only one pokemon. And Bagon was obviously well trained, in fact, she looked like she was going to evolve by the end of it. Not a lot of pokemon could just swamp a pretty powerful team like that. So you didn't just overpower him, you just outmaneuvered him and actually knew what you were doing."

"Soo," Ash drawled, amusement in his voice, "you admit that Bagon was well trained. And to think that _I _didn't have the experience to train it…"

Ash had to admit; the thinly veiled stab at Misty was a bit cruel. He was about to apologize when Misty's legendary temper finally exploded. "I was _wrong_, okay? I'm sorry! That's the whole freaking reason that I came here: to say sorry. I never apologize, but somehow, I felt like I had to, and now you're giving me all this crap about something that I did a month ago. _I'm sorry_," the girl managed through gritted teeth, straining herself to say the words. Any previous anger Ash had at Misty dissipated with these words.

Though the words lacked sincerity, Ash was impressed. "I'm sorry, too. I…" he hesitated, choosing his words carefully, before going on to say, "I was pretty upset. I mean, that day so many things went wrong. I was kind of sick of it all, so I ran away." Ash felt spent, sitting down on the tree stump that Charmander was on earlier. He didn't want to divulge any personal information to Misty, but after her sacrifice, Ash decided that he could sacrifice something as well.

"I worked for Professor Oak and did a lot of fieldwork with him," Ash revealed, tapping Bagon's pokeball absentmindedly, "and when the day came to receive a starter, I found out that he gave his all away. Even the Pikachu that I wanted _so bad. _All he had to offer to me was a pokeball."

"So you were mad," Misty concluded. Ash chuckled drily.

"Yeah, although that would be watering it down a little bit," Ash admitted, heating up when Misty sat on the stump next to him. Their legs were touching. "I was raging. I even hung up on my own mother." Regret pooled in the pit of his stomach as he realized just how much he had missed his mom. Ash suddenly felt homesick, and he could've sworn that the aroma of his mom's fresh baked cookies made its way into his nose. Sighing sadly, he willed away the phantom smell. Blocking his mom's number was one of the biggest mistakes he had made, he realized.

"It's okay," Misty murmured, clearly clueless as to how to approach this situation. _At least she tried_, Ash thought. He glanced at her only to find her staring intensely back at him, their noses _so close –_

Ash stood up, trying to get Misty's ocean breeze scent out of his mind. "Sorry," he apologized, glancing down, "I got too close."

Misty remained silent, studying him. _Was he really that dense? _"Hey," she offered, trying to cheer him up, "let's go to the Cerulean Gym. Maybe we could travel to Saffron together…"

"Maybe through the whole of Kanto," Ash counter offered, a small but genuine smile breaking out onto his face. "Would you?"

The girl nodded, and Ash felt as if he was flying. He finally had a traveling companion.

* * *

**Well, Charizard was smoking the polls, so I decided, _eh_, _to hell with it, there's no way it would loose_. Also, I remember watching the episode and feeling that the guy who ditched him was a major douche. It felt gratifying to write his defeat, but in doing so, I also managed to create a new rival for Ash. Gary hasn't even appeared in the picture yet.**

**I hope the gym fight wasn't too short. After all, Brock is Kanto's weakest Gym Leader and only has two pokemon.**

**Thanks for all the support guys and gals. It means a lot. Remember, the only way I know if I'm doing my job right is by your reviews! So review! Don't be shy, I don't bite that often.**


	3. The Ghost World

**Hey ladies and gentlemen! Long time no see. Thank you for the 50+ reviews, 120+ follows, and 80+ favorites! I couldn't be happier to see that so many people enjoyed the story.**

**As for now, the poll will be closed. I have selected four more pokemon from the top 11 to make it onto Ash's _Kanto _team, but then, after Ash is done with the Kanto Region, I will resubmit the poll so you guys can have another chance to add a pokemon that you like to his team.**

**So if you don't see the pokemon that you wanted, don't worry, you have another chance to vote on the pokemon that you want Ash to have. I know I have increased the number of choices on the poll and people feel like they've been cheated out of a few votes, so putting up another one later will compensate for that.**

**Here are the pokemon that are _definitely _going to make it onto his team (keep in mind that not all of them will be on his Kanto team though):**

**_Tyranitar, Lucario, Gengar, Garchomp, Metagross, Sceptile, Gardevoir, Eevee, _****and _Milotic_.**

**There will be another chance to add more pokemon in the future, but now, let's enjoy _The Wanderer!_**

**Ages**

**Ash: 10**

**Misty: 11**

* * *

AU. Instead of receiving a Pikachu as his starter, Ash Ketchum is only given an empty pokeball and a sheepish grin from Professor Oak. Anger and spite clouding his soul, he sets out only to find a ray of hope in the form of a small, injured Bagon. It's funny how a tiny twist of fate can change one's destiny forever. Dark, smarter Ash – various shippings included.

* * *

The Wanderer

**Chapter II**

"Alright, Starmie, let's kick this kid's butt back to Pallet Town!"

Misty grinned, staring at her opponent across the battleground from her. He may have been good, but she is a Gym Leader after all, and there was no way that Misty was going to let her sisters give him a Cascade Badge just for _trying_.

Ash sent out Bagon, the obvious choice, since the entire gym was a water type's fantasy and a fire type's worst nightmare. The battleground was a massive pool the size of a regular, League-approved field with small islands here and there. Any water type would have a serious advantage with the abundance of water.

"Alright, challengers first," Misty called, cracking her knuckles with ease and an air of confidence around her.

Right now, Ash didn't have a great strategy in mind. Bagon knew a lot of moves for a pokemon that has only been training for one month, but none of them were effective towards water types. He'd have to wait and see what Misty was capable of doing until the perfect opportunity to strike comes.

"Focus Energy," Ash commanded, his voice calmer than usual. His pokemon glowed slightly before the glow subsided, signifying the use of the move. "Double team twice."

Immediately, Bagon disappeared from sight only to reappear as four different Bagons, each a perfect copy of one another save for a tiny detail that only Ash was able to notice. Misty looked annoyed, but Ash could tell that she expected this strategy.

"Water Gun 'em down." Misty had a thoughtful look on her face. "Then Harden and Rapid Spin towards the real Bagon."

The star pokemon didn't give any notice of it heeding Misty's command, but Ash wasn't shocked when it suddenly dove under water, disappearing from view. "Bagon, get ready to dodge and use Dragon Breath."

There were a few moments of palpable silence before Starmie burst out of the water and sprayed down the Bagon, forcing the fake copies to evaporate into nothingness and the real one to get doused by a little bit of water. Although Bagon didn't receive a lot of damage from the attack, she was forced to wipe the water away from her eyes. That gave Starmie the time to glint and start spinning rapidly towards Ash's pokemon.

Bagon recovered just in time to roar and breathe a blue beam of energy at the spinning pokemon. Ash found himself pleasantly surprised when the attack bounced off of the rapidly spinning Starmie, its spinning arms batting away the attack like it was a ball.

"Wait for it," Ash murmured, watching as Starmie spun closer and closer to Bagon… "Now! Use Iron Head."

Bagon cried in affirmation and her black dome grew white with energy before bringing it forward and smashing it into Starmie's attack, effectively stopping the Rapid Spin. The two pokemon were at a standstill, Ash relying purely on Bagon's abnormal strength that was associated with all dragons, before Bagon grunted and sprang forward on its hind legs, sending Starmie flying back into the water.

Misty's pokemon instantly resurfaced, showing that not a lot of damage had been taken in the attack. The water reflected beautifully off of its purple skin and red jewel, indicating that it was a pokemon born to battle in the water.

"Focus Energy," Ash instructed once again, watching as Bagon glowed with energy. He wouldn't have a lot of opportunities to attack, so when he did, Ash wanted to make sure that Bagon could take out Starmie or at least cripple it. "Hone Claws."

"Wear him down with Water Gun!"

Ash watched as a spray of water smacked Bagon in the back, causing her to stumble a bit. But Ash knew that the water attack wouldn't hurt Bagon the slightest – dragon types were resistant to water type attacks. It would be hours until Bagon would fall to Water Gun.

Misty seemed to realize that, too, and her face darkened. "Rapid Spin and Swift, go!"

Starmie popped out of the water and started spinning before activating its Swift attack, spraying bright, star-shaped pellets of energy in wide circle as it close in on Bagon, the dragon pokemon's claws glinting with suppressed power.

"Crunch, now."

Misty's face showed her horror. Ash knew that Starmie was a water and psychic type. Crunch, a dark type move, would tear straight through its defenses.

"Starmie, get out of there!" Misty cried, her hands flailing pointing at the water to emphasize her point.

Her pokemon hesitated, stopping its rapid spin before attempting to dive back into the water. But that hesitation was its downfall. Bagon leapt forward with surprising speed, clamping its jaws down on a few of Starmie's arms. Starmie cried in pain, suddenly detaching itself from Bagon.

Ash frowned. Starmie had willingly dropped off a few of its triangular arms to get away, and he watched with fascination as the star shaped pokemon's missing arms slowly began to regrow, snapping into place with painful-sounding cracks. He had heard that Starmie had the ability to regrow limbs, but this was the first time that he had seen it in action.

"Bagon, before it's too late, Dragon Claw on the center of Starmie's chest." Bagon roared, her arm glowing under the influence of Dragon Claw, and leapt forward, seizing Starmie's momentary lapse of attention. Starmie struggled to get away, but it was already wounded from the attack it had suffered from Bagon earlier.

"I forfeit!" Ash's opponent called, the Gym Leader retrieving her pokemon with a flash of red light. Bagon's strike ended up hitting the sand, blasting up a cloud as a testament to how powerful it would've been had it hit the wounded Starmie.

Misty walked around the battlefield, sighing a bit as she presented Ash with a Cascade Badge. She was clearly upset at being defeated so quickly, and apparently her Starmie was her strongest pokemon. Ash pocketed the shiny badge as he retrieved Bagon, storing a mental reminder in his brain to add it to his badge case later.

"You know, if we had a full battle," Misty began, leading Ash out of the gym, "I would've beaten you."

"You wish," Ash responded, a confident grin on his face. Then, he turned around, giving one last look at the domed Cerulean Gym. "Are you sure your sisters are going to be okay managing that thing?"

The girl beside him nodded. "Don't worry about them. They're fine without me." Then her eyes narrowed. "Eventually I would've taken out your Bagon. Then Charmander would've been an easy victory."

"Actually, the more Bagon battles, the more powerful she becomes," Ash revealed, tapping Bagon's shrunken pokeball thoughtfully. "With each victory, she only grows stronger."

"As do all pokemon," Misty huffed matter-of-factly.

"You know what – " Ash began, but when he saw Misty's already red and annoyed face, he decided not to push it. "… never mind."

They traveled in a strained silence to the Pokemon Center to check up on Misty's Starmie. There were no major wounds suffered during the battle, but it would have to rest for a while before resuming battling in order to regrow its arms healthily. Then the duo went to the blue-topped Pokemart, where Ash bought a few potions and pokeballs with the limited resources that he had made from defeating a few trainers on the road.

Before the two headed out for Vermillion, Ash halted right outside the gates of Cerulean. Misty gave him a weird look, but he ignored it and pulled out his pokeballs. He opened them, revealing Charmander and Bagon after a bright flash.

"What are you doing?" Misty asked, itching to get started on their journey already. She had two pokeballs by her side and a bunch of empty ones in her pack for catching the water pokemon along the way.

Ash gave her a look saying, _you'll see_, as he pulled out his Pokedex. He quickly scanned Charmander to find that it was a male pokemon with a mild nature and the powerful ability _Blaze_. His move set was pretty good, but nothing too impressive, since Damien failed to train him properly: _Ember, Smokescreen, Dragon Rage, Tackle, _and _Fire Fang._

The trainer was surprised to find Smokescreen, a non-damaging move. Damien had ridiculed the mere thought of using a statboosting move in battle, so why would Charmander have Smokescreen? Ash shook off his confusion, deciding that it was a lucky break that Charmander had Smokescreen. The move could be powerful if used correctly.

Later in the journey, Ash would get Bagon to teach Charmander some new moves to expand his move set. It would help his versatility, and Ash knew that, if raised correctly, Charmander could grow to become a behemoth of a powerhouse.

But for now, Ash commanded Bagon to use Rock Tomb. Despite Misty's loud protests, Bagon slammed its foot into the ground, sending rocks flying up. They landed heavily on the ground, some large and small, and immediately Ash set to work. He retrieved some rope from his backpack, tying the larger ones onto Bagon's back, arms, and legs. She stood perfectly still, used to this unorthodox technique. However, when it was Charmander's turn, he hissed and backed away from Ash.

The trainer expected this to happen. "Look, Charmander," he said, deciding to come up with a nickname for him later, "this is the first step to becoming strong." At the words 'becoming strong' the lizard pokemon perked up, growling a little and swiping at the ground with its tail. His eyes shown with excitement, and from there on Ash knew how to motivate this specific pokemon.

"So you want to become strong, huh?" Ash chuckled, patting the fire pokemon on the head. "I don't think you have what it takes."

"_Char!" _came his indignant reply, immediately followed by growling.

"Yeah, well, look at Bagon," Ash muttered, knowing exactly how to play his cards. Charmander stared at the dragon pokemon and how easily she moved around even with such a heavy load on her back. "She carries around over twice her weight without trouble. _And _she's smaller than you."

The look on Charmander's face told Ash that he had struck a nerve. Charmander may have been a pokemon, but he did have the pride and ego of a man. That was going to work to Ash's advantage.

"I bet she could destroy you in a fight," Ash thought out loud, stroking his chin. "After all, she trains hard and you don't seem so willing to do so. I did tell you that the journey with me wasn't going to be all rainbows and sunshine. So if you really want to become the greatest Charizard to ever walk this planet, you'll have to strap on these rocks and get your move on."

By the end of Ash's well-aimed comments and speech, Charmander was all but begging him to strap the rocks to his chest. Grinning, Ash attached the smaller rocks to the lizard pokemon's body in a similar fashion as Bagon, knowing that although that Charmander was half a foot taller than Bagon, he was nowhere near her level in strength.

Bagon were notorious to train, as are all dragons. They may be small at first, but they are extremely dense. Bagon was barely a foot and a half tall but she was so thick and packed with muscle that she was easily a hundred pounds. According to the Pokedex, Charmander was two feet tall, the average height of its kind, but weighed slightly less than average at just fifteen pounds.

With his two pokemon strapped into their weights, Ash began the trek to Vermillion. It wasn't long before Misty started asking questions.

"What's up with the weight thing?" she asked, shoulder to shoulder with him as they walked at a fast pace.

"It helps them become stronger," Ash answered, shrugging slightly. "You admitted that Bagon was an extremely strong pokemon. That is why. No other conventional trainer would do something like this."

"Yeah," she breathed, her annoyance at her loss in battle not quite gone yet, "but no other conventional trainer would do this because it's cruel to the pokemon."

Ash didn't even bat an eye at her obvious jab. "Trust me, those two _want _to train. You saw Charmander all but beg me to tie those rocks to him. And it's a good thing that he wanted it, too. I wouldn't force him to put them on, but I'm glad that he did."

The girl beside him grumbled something unintelligible, possibly admitting her defeat. But by now, Ash knew enough about Misty to know that she would never admit defeat or apologize easily.

"Hey, it's worth it in the end," Ash assured. "They'll only become stronger and faster when they take them off."

A silence overtook them as they walked the well-worn path, passing a few travelers on the way. Bagon and Charmander earned a few curious glances because of the rocks piled on their backs, but they trudged on. Charmander was obviously tiring, but his pride forced him to keep up with Bagon, who was briskly jogging in front of Ash and Misty.

Vermillion was a few days of travel away.

**– Ω –**

"What do you mean, _we can't pass_?" Misty demanded, anger flaring in her voice. She jabbed her finger into the chest of the much taller League worker, who obviously seemed uncomfortable.

The worker swallowed, eyes darting around nervously. "Route 5 beyond here is in shambles, Miss Waterflower," he answered, scratching his neck. "The storm a few days ago has caused huge mudflows and sinkholes to pop up, and it doesn't help that the flooding – "

"Don't give me that useless crap," Misty sighed, and Ash watched with fascination as she took a deep breath and the anger seemed to dissipate. Although somewhat volatile, Misty improved on keeping her temper in check. "Just tell us how to get to Vermillion."

"You'll have to go through the Rock Tunnel just east of here," the man replied, still somewhat on edge. "Make sure to follow the signs lest you end up in Lavender Town… then you'll _really _be in trouble."

"What's bad about Lavender Town?" Ash wondered, speaking up for the first time since the conversation started.

The worker shook his head. "There's been bad stuff going on there. The ghosts are crowding around the place, so much that some of the residence has been relocated and word's on the street that the Elite Four has sent one of their own to work out the problem."

"The Elite Four don't do anything unless it's serious," Ash deadpanned. "Thanks for the information. We'll be on our way."

After heeding the worker's instructions and heading east, Misty grumpily trudged along Ash. The past few days were uneventful, the two making slower progress due to constant detours since some parts of Route 5 had been damaged by the storm. Ash and Misty crashed at darkness and woke up at the first crack of light, conserving food just in case they had to lengthen the journey.

He found traveling with a companion comforting. Although Misty and Ash's conversation were mostly pointless quarrels, it was nice having someone there to watch his back. Ash found himself trusting Misty more and more and enjoyed the time they had together no matter how often their personalities clashed.

As for his pokemon, Bagon and Charmander didn't get any real training in. Charmander still only knew five moves and didn't have any chance to expand his move set, yet the constant carrying of rocks helped him grow some muscles, although he was nowhere near as packed with muscles as Bagon was. However, it was evident that improvements were being made.

After an hour's walk, they found themselves at the base of a cliff, where above a lone mountain jutted out proudly from the ground. They followed the cliff line deeper into the mountain, where eventually a massive, gaping hole in the side of the mountain presented itself.

Misty's hand drew near her pokeball, itching to release her Starmie. "Rock Tunnel is notorious for its dangerous pokemon. They say that wild Onix roam the caves."

Ash nodded before untying the rocks from Bagon and Charmander, storing the ropes back in his pack and giving his starter an affectionate pat on her black dome. When Charmander whined at the lack of attention, he tickled the pokemon's arm, earning a small yelp.

"Alright guys," he told them, gesturing at the massive cave entrance ahead of them, "we're taking a slight detour to Vermillion, and I'm going to need you two on high alert. Apparently wild pokemon prowl these caves, looking for battles."

Charmander perked up at the mention of battles and he thumped his cream-colored chest with his hand and unleashed a small breath of flames, showing his willingness to prove himself to his trainer. Bagon just snorted, unimpressed by the attempt, before unleashing a Flamethrower deep into the pits of the cavern, lighting up the inside before fading to darkness.

Ash grinned at his two pokemon battling for his attention. He spared a look at Misty and said, mockingly, "Ladies first, Mist."

At the mention of her nickname, Misty scowled. "Then I'd be after you, _Ashy-pie_."

Huffing, Ash stepped into the cave and ignored Misty's snickers and celebration of victory. His pokemon followed after, trailed by Misty who still had a smirk etched onto her face. Eventually, Charmander took the lead, lighting up the way ahead as Ash and Misty followed behind, with Bagon staying behind and making sure nothing followed them.

Small pockets of natural light flowed from cracks high above them, and when Charmander let loose a blast of flames to warn away some Zubats and Golbats, Ash could very briefly see how large the tunnel was. It stretched out high above him and wide around him. Ash saw many different paths, each winding deeper and deeper into the mountain.

"Do you know where you're going?" Misty hissed, finally breaking the silence. The only other sound was Charmander's cackling flame, which burned merrily on his tail, and the occasional squeal of a Zubat using echolocation. "I haven't seen a sign in forever."

"No," Ash admitted, feeling fear creep into his system. His voice trembled a bit. "We should retrace our steps."

"For once I agree with you," Misty teased, trying to throw humor into the situation. It was met with a dry chuckle. Ash turned around in a perfect 180 degrees, going back exactly the way he came. As long as he didn't loose sense of direction, he'd be fine.

"_Char!" _Charmander suddenly cried, blowing a large swath of flame at something Ash couldn't see. The hissing sounds of Zubats and Golbats filled the cave, and the light from the flame illuminated hundreds of small, wiry bodies with long, twin tails.

"Bagon, Flamethrower!"

His pokemon didn't even need the command. Instantly, it was spitting a scorching trail of flame straight towards the group, knocking and burning a few of the smaller Zubat down. It wasn't enough. The pokemon flew straight into the group, sending Ash and Misty tumbling down. What seemed like thousands of the Zubat family started screeching, the incredibly loud and high-pitched sounds invading his senses, battering his eardrums. Countless of small, furry bodies pressed themselves against them, biting him, before moving on only to have more take their place.

It seemed like hours until the torture ended. Ash had curled up into a fetal position, absorbing all the cuts and attacks into his back. He stood up on shaky legs, ringing in his ears as he took off his pack with shaky hands and pulled out some potions. A few feet away, he could spot Charmander curled on the ground, numerous gashes across its orange body, causing him to cringe.

Still unable to hear anything due to the loud ringing in his ears, Ash sprayed his Charmander's wounds, emptying the vial of liquid. The trainer watched with fascination as the smaller cuts instantly mended and the larger gashes sealed up, causing the lizard pokemon to stand up, eyes blazing with resilience. Then Bagon found the duo, skin littered with small cuts but far better off than Charmander, and received her own dose of the magical medicine.

The ringing in his ears subsided and an uncanny silence cleared the cave, save for Charmander's cackling tail flame. Then, Ash heard tiny sobs and his name muttered over and over again. Instantly, Ash found Misty, curled up into a tiny ball, her hair a mess and tears streaking down her face as she rocked back and forth. No words were said as he pulled at the medicine kit from her backpack and wiped her wounds with medicine, covering the large ones with bandages and leaving the smaller ones to close up on their own.

Pulling out his Pokegear, Ash saw that it was only seven, but he had enough of traveling in one day. Procuring some dry wood from his pack, he ordered Charmander to light the pile of wood on fire, resulting in a cheerful blaze that lit up the cavern they were in. It wasn't as large as the one they had been in before, but it was pretty big nonetheless, with a tall ceiling and many different tunnels leading to Arceus-knows-where.

During the attack, Ash had completely lost his sense of direction. He admitted this to Misty, who said nothing as she continued to rock back and forth, basking in the heat of the flame. Her eyes had a tormented look to them, and Ash didn't push her to say anything else.

Too tired to take this opportunity to train, Ash sat down next to Misty and wiped the wet tears from her dirty face, wrapping an arm around her shoulder in an innocent gesture before falling into a nasty nightmare.

_He was alone, at the top of a mountain. The sun was shining brightly, and Ash basked in its glory. It was nice and warm until the Zubat came. The bat like pokemon came by the millions, flooding out of crevasses in the rock and blocking out the sun, viciously attacking him until Ash was nothing but a pile of bone –_

Ash woke up, panting and shivering. The fire was gone, and Charmander and Bagon were both asleep. A lone beam of light came down from the ceiling, signifying daytime. Cramped and aching, Ash was about to stand up when he noticed Misty's head lying on his chest, the girl in a deep state of slumber.

She too looked like she was having a nightmare. Ash shook her out of her dream, only to have her scream and lunge at him, tackling him and sending them both to the ground. Ash cried out in pain, feeling the cuts on his back become aggravated.

"Sorry Ash," she whispered, rolling off of him. Misty was still trembling, and her voice was soft and scared. "Are we moving?"

Ash stamped out the embers of the fire pit, rousing his pokemon. "Yeah. I don't want to spend a lot of time in this tunnel."

His companion nodded in silent agreement, her green eyes darkened by trauma. Ash wouldn't be surprised if she had a life long fear of Zubats from now on. Immediately, anger flared up within him. _I'm supposed to protect her_, he thought, mentally choking himself, _and look at how that turned out._

Ash glanced around, noticing that one of the tunnels had light in it. He jerked his thumb towards the passage, and Misty nodded hollowly. Charmander took point, scurrying along as if the Zubat attack had never happened, and Bagon kept vigil behind them, much more careful and cautious than the day before.

They walked for an unknown period of time, the glimmer of light so hauntingly close yet so far away. Everything started to loose meaning. Ash felt his grasp on time slip away, and with it, his remaining vestiges of sanity as the darkness threatened to overwhelm him. He felt something grasp his arm before realizing that it was only Misty, and for his own sanity's sake, he kept her close.

Each step felt like he was going backwards. The light seemed to grow dimmer and fainter with each step he took. The passage grew narrower and narrower, eventually forcing the party of four to walk in a single file line. Suddenly, the light disappeared, darkness taking its place, and Ash let loose a strangled scream of panic.

_No_, he thought firmly, shoving his panic back down his throat, _I'm not going to let some cave defeat me._

He thought he felt a breath of fresh air. He could almost feel the breeze, tickling at his senses and fanning lazily across his body. Charmander squealed and scurried forward at such a rapid pace that Ash lost sight of him. His slow walk turning into a dead sprint, Ash weaving his way through the tunnel as the walls grew tighter and tighter, even having to crawl through a few places, before finally bursting into open ground, a beautiful light basking him with warmth and a wonderful breeze bringing the fresh smell of pine and the forest –

Ash fell down the side of a slope, tumbling to a stop at the bottom of the hill, bruised and battered, face up to the sky. He lay there, panting, as he heard Misty's cry of joy and pitter-patter of feet, indicating that she was soon by his side. His ever-loyal pokemon came to his side, with Charmander nuzzling his face into Ash's ribs, earning an affectionate pat from his trainer.

"We made it," Misty breathed, taking in huge gulps of fresh air. "I thought… I thought…"

"I thought it was over," Ash finished for her, standing up. He could see a few small houses ahead. Although it didn't look like the big city of Vermillion, any civilization after that night in the tunnel would be welcome. He returned his pokemon, wincing slightly as he bent his arm.

"Ash," Misty said seriously, looking him over, "did you forget to patch up yourself?"

His muscles screamed and groaned, but Ash forced a pained smile. "I'm fine. Nothing a night's rest on a nice bed can't heal."

She looked like she wanted to say something else, but instead bit her lip and looked away. Ash took this as her cue to begin walking again, heading towards the small town. He turned around, looking at the small, unsuspecting cave entrance above them, before turning back towards his journey with an air of finality. He would never travel through Rock Tunnel again.

After a thirty minute walk they were finally at the small town, limping and torn up but very much alive. The townspeople were wary of them and avoided them, and their cold attitude was mirrored by the atmosphere, which, although there was a cheerful sun, seemed to chill Ash to the bone.

They spotted the familiar Pokemon Center, with its gleaming red roof and well-maintained, pristine white walls. The glass door slid open effortlessly and instantly a nurse was with them, offering them water and food without a fee. Before anything else, Ash got his pokemon checked up, revealing no harmful injuries although they did suffer from a large number of tiny cuts.

"Arceus, it looks as if you two were attacked by a thousand Zubats," the nurse remarked, handing them a glass of water and a steamy plate of food.

Instantly, Misty dug in, gulping down the water like her life depended on it and scarfing down the whole meal. Before doing the same, Ash muttered a quiet, "You have _no _idea."

**– Ω –**

They were in Lavender Town.

"Just our luck," Misty snarled, feeling a little bit more energetic after taking a nap. Unluckily, her anger and annoyance resurfaced with her energy. "Make it out of hell just to be thrown to where the ghosts go out for Friday night fun."

"It's not that bad," Ash offered, attempting to placate the angry ex-Gym Leader. "Lavender Town will just be a pit stop."

The water trainer rolled her eyes. "Sure, that's what you'll say. Then you'll hear that they have Ghastly and Haunter in the Pokemon Tower, and next thing I know, _you'll _be heading over – "

"There are Haunters in the Pokemon Tower?" Ash had a dangerous look on his face. His lips twitched upwards. Misty immediately regretted saying anything. "Mist, can we – "

"No."

Ash frowned at her. "It'll be a good addition to the team and add some diversity."

"I don't want a ghost traveling with us," the girl reasoned, grimacing at the mere thought of it. "Plus, the Pokemon Tower is dangerous. You heard what that League guy said. There's been a lot more ghosts than normal. Half of this town was deserted when we came in."

"Fine," Ash stood up, leaving Misty alone on the comfy couch. "I'll catch it by myself."

She glared at him, annoyed at Ash for disregarding her dislike towards ghosts. "Be that way. When you come back with as a vegetable, I'll be the one laughing."

An old lady looked at them with interest before returning to her magazine. Ash stuck his tongue out at Misty before crashing out of the doors, clipping some empty pokeballs to his belt. The Pokemon Tower loomed over him, the only impressive landmark in the entire city.

Half the town seemed to empty, Ash observed, walking towards the tower. It was actually in the center of town, standing high and proud over the surrounding hills. The closer he moved towards it, the colder it seemed to get. A chill went down his spine as he heard childish laughter, only to realize that nobody was in sight.

A harsh, grating sound occurred somewhere to his right, but he ignored the phantom sound and carried on. He heard the whistle of a blade and felt an odd, tingling sensation in his stomach as the sound of metal entering flesh muddled the quiet atmosphere, the drip of blood too realistic for his liking. Ash shook off his unease, his drive as a pokemon trainer too strong to be thrown off course by a few ghostly sounds.

The houses grew bigger towards the tower, each abandoned with shuttered windows. He could've sworn that there were faces staring at him, lifeless, red eyes glaring at him before disappearing from his view.

He wasn't even in the tower yet and already Ash was about to pee his pants. But his iron resolve to catch a ghost type overrode his fear, and he strode through the large doors of the Pokemon Tower and into the lobby inside.

It was deserted. Graves seemed to go on for as far as the eye could see, but Ash saw through the illusion. There were massive mirrors for walls, adding to the distorted image. There were stairs leading higher into the tower, and Ash, growing cautious of the graves, continued upwards. It was now chilly, goose bumps rising on his skin as he ascended to the next level.

When he ascended to the next level, the mirrors were gone. Old, rusted walls stood in its place, and there were fewer graves than the first floor. There was nothing of interest, so Ash continued upwards, only to find the exact same thing on the third floor.

_Strange_, he thought, ascending a few more floors. _I haven't seen a single ghost yet. I wonder where they are._

It was on the sixth floor when anything truly remarkable happened. He had just walked up the stairs, slightly panting from the effort, when he heard a voice call his name.

"Ash! Please, save me!"

The voice was instantly recognizable. It was his mother. Wild fear clobbered his veins and he suddenly grew a thousand times colder. "MOM!" Ash screamed wildly, horror and panic clouding his judgment. He spied a pair of legs being dragged up to the seventh and last floor and instantly followed it.

After hopping up the last few steps, Ash was greeted with a large, spacious yet empty room. Empty except for one thing.

"Mom?" Ash cried weakly, staring at his mother's frozen figure. She was facing away from him, her long hair falling to her back.

"You never called," she answered, in her sweet Delia Ketchum voice, "you never called…"

"I'm sorry mom," Ash sobbed out, collapsing to his knees. Emotions poured out of his heart, pulling at his mind and escalating his blood rate. He couldn't think straight anymore. The Pokemon Tower was driving him insane.

"You never called," his mom repeated, shaking her head. "You never called…"

Tears came to Ash's eyes. "Is something wrong, mom? I'll make it up to you – "

"_SOMETHING IS WRONG!" _his mother screamed, an ethereal sound smashing reality to pieces. The plain room turned into his personal hell, pits of fire lighting up a darkened sky. He was kneeling in blood, slushing around lazily like ooze, and twisted version of trees, blackened and charred, dotted the landscape.

His mother's head spun around, but the rest of the body didn't follow. A painful, spine-chilling snap was heard as it faced him perfectly. Ash's mouth fell wide open. His mother mimicked his gesture, laughing demonically as Zubats flew out of her mouth and her eyes glowed pure red, blood breaking out from pores all over her face as she tore her own ears off, sending larvae and insects crawling from within –

Ash hurled, his vomit splashing into the bloody ground, a mixture of undigested human eyes, hands, and feet washing up to greet him. He stared at his own hands in disbelief, noticing his fingers stitched together like crude flippers as he glanced back at his mother, only to find her a foot away from him, a horrifying, toothless smile etched into her pale, bloody face.

Ash's scream tore his throat open, and he could feel his throat slashed open by the sound, thick ooze pouring from the wound. It sluggishly flowed down his shirt.

His mother's knees snapped the wrong way, bent at a horrifying angle as her elbows did the same, crawling towards him like a demented spider, grinning and licking her lips as if preparing to feast on his flesh. Millions upon millions of purple ghosts flew in the sky, hellfire starting to rain from the ashen clouds as screams of death and destruction finally tore its way through his ears as he felt his inner ear explode, the sensation of blood oozing out of his ears making him feel faint.

"Here, darling Ash," the demented version of his mother cooed, "let me give you a _kiss!_"

Her tongue, long and serpentine, slowly closed the distance between them, coming closer and closer and closer…

With a massive roar, Ash punched his mother's face and shut his eyes, telling himself that _it wasn't real it wasn't real it wasn't real it wasn't real _and that it would all be over soon. The cackling of fire and sounds of death disappeared into nothing, and the red glow from behind his eyes dissipated into darkness.

Trembling like a baby, Ash opened his eyes. He almost cried in relief when the plain room of the Pokemon Tower presented itself to him again. On shaky legs, Ash managed to stand up and glare at a single purple pokemon suspended above the ground.

A Haunter stared back at him, its gaseous form somehow managing to imitate a smirk.

"Interesting," a voice behind him said.

Ash snapped around, mouth agape at the intruder: the old woman from the pokemon center. Still shaking and shivering all over, he could barely manage a "who are you?"

"Nobody you need to know," she answered cryptically. She hobbled towards him and the Haunter on a cane, observing him with a critical look. "What's your name?"

"Ash," the boy answered, still shivering uncontrollably. He glared at the gas pokemon, watching it stick out a long, serpentine tongue oozing with poison out at him. It laughed hauntingly, a strange, lady-like giggle. His arm twitched, fingers lashing out randomly, completely out of control. "What's wrong with me?"

"This Haunter here licked you," the lady responded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Haunter could've sucked the life straight out of you, but something obviously stopped her."

"You?" Ash didn't know what this lady was capable of, but she had a few pokeballs dangling from her waist. "Did you save me?"

"Oh, lil' old me?" she laughed, waving her hand. "No, you saved yourself. Ghosts typically pass right through humans. It was… shocking, to say the least, when you managed to punch that Haunter right in the face."

"I thought that was an illusion," Ash drawled, extremely confused.

The old lady laughed once again, covering her mouth. "No, you were hypnotized and Haunter here was eating your dreams. How you managed to pull yourself out of the dream interests me and our mutual friend here."

The Haunter giggled airily, swirling around and doing flips. Its ghostly hands brushed pass him, but instead of going straight through him, the Haunter collided into his shoulder, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. The ghost was insanely cold, and Ash flinched when Haunter licked him happily.

"Haunter's interested in you," the old crone observed, "that's the only reason you're still alive."

The ghost floated off of him, spinning and flipping around the air. It screeched and hissed something unintelligible, but somehow the woman understood it. Ash started shivering again, most prominently around where the ghost had licked him. He watched as the pokemon flew through the woman like she was thin air and then crash into Ash and bounce off of him, hissing in confusion and curiosity before continuing its path through the air.

"It wants to travel with you." There was a small smile on her face, and she studying him with seemingly young eyes. Her entire body was that of an old lady's, but her eyes portrayed youth and strength, still a brilliant shade of gray. "But, you have to prove yourself first."

Ash didn't need another hint. Haunter wanted a battle, and he was going to get it.

"Go, Bagon!" Ash threw out his pokeball, revealing the dragon pokemon in a flash. She glanced around a bit, before shivering slightly at the cold. The old lady seemed surprised at the shiny pokemon, but said nothing at all, content on observing how the little boy fought. Haunter grinned deviously, shadows around it swirling into existence, shooting towards Bagon without any warning.

"Bagon, Double Team and then get out of there."

His pokemon instantly complied, disappearing briefly before two copies of the shiny pokemon popped into existence, both diving out of the way before the shadows struck them. The shadows exploded, raising a black, inky cloud of darkness that briefly obscured Ash's vision.

"What's going on?" Ash cried, trying to peer through the darkness. He heard a shriek of pain and a draconian roar, the smoke clearing to show a seemingly angered Haunter and a victorious looking Bagon.

Interested with how Bagon fought on her own, Ash decided to let Bagon duke it out with the Haunter.

Haunter screamed as it dove forward, its detached arms glowing with darkness as it flew towards Bagon at amazing speeds. Ash's pokemon countered with a quick burst of flame, the jet of fire going straight through the ghost and leaving a gaping hole. Haunter seemed to take some damage, but it easily refilled the hole in its head with some more gas.

Bagon didn't give Haunter a chance to rest, instantly springing forward with Dragon Claw, aiming for a quick knock out, but Haunter had some quick reflexes. Its arm glowed with shadows at the last second as it countered Dragon Claw with Shadow Punch. Not relenting, Bagon's black dome glowed brightly and slammed it into an unsuspecting Haunter's face.

Recognizing the use of Zen Headbutt, Ash clucked in admiration, noting how Bagon was smart enough to use a psychic type attack towards a ghost type. Haunter's form flickered, disappearing before reappearing a few feet away, a new look on its face. No longer was it playing games.

Shadows streaked towards Bagon, and the pokemon, recognizing the attack, braced itself for the hit. The shadows exploded underneath Bagon, throwing her forward towards Haunter. Then Ash saw Bagon's strategy – take the hit, use the power from the explosion to propel towards Haunter, but now what?

Ash winced when Bagon latched onto Haunter, using Crunch to bite down hard on the ghost's mane of purple spikes. The dark type move was super effective, causing Haunter to screech and dissipate, Bagon's mouth snapping together with a mighty _crunch_. It reappeared a few feet away, looking like it had taken quite a beating. For a pokemon with only a head and hands, it did a great job of looking like it was slumped over with fatigue.

Before Bagon could advance, Ash threw an empty pokeball at the Haunter, watching as it was sucked into the ball. Ash held his breath as the ball rocked back and forth, once, twice, _thrice _–

It dinged, signifying a successful capture. Ash beat his chest and pumped his fist high into the air, letting loose a whoop of excitement as he celebrated over the new catch of his team. He clipped it to his belt, retrieving Bagon and staring at the old lady that he had forgotten about.

She had an approving smile on her face. Ash glanced at her uncertainly, a shy smile seeping onto his face. "Now what do we do?"

"I don't know about you, but I came here for a reason," she informed, a harsh tone drifting into her voice, throwing all of her pokeballs in the air. Five powerful pokemon appeared after a flash, looking around at their surroundings. After noticing they were in the Pokemon Tower, they all started cackling happily.

There were all ghost or poison types; an Arbok slithered around hungrily, sticking its tongue into the air, a massive Crobat flew around, sending shivers down Ash's back as he thought about the Rock Tunnel, an exotic pokemon from Sinnoh called a Misdreavus, and two powerhouses of Gengars. Sure, the three pokemon seemed powerful, but the Gengars just floated around with such confidence that the air significantly cooled down to nearly freezing temperatures and the light seemed distorted around them, the ghosts bending the plane of the physical world just by existing.

Only one person in Kanto had a team like this. "Lady Agatha of the Elite Four," he breathed, watching as the woman's lips curled up into something dangerous. He bowed respectfully.

"Took you enough time, kid," she murmured, shrugging. "Glad to see someone still has some manners in this day and age."

Now that her 'nice old lady' façade had dropped, Ash could easily see the biting sarcasm and the harshness that made her famous. "Thank you," he replied uneasily, feeling underpowered in the presence of such a powerful team of pokemon.

The two Gengars observed him curiously, one of them walking up to him and poking Ash. He shivered at the incredibly cool touch, and the Gengar flinched, surprised that its hand didn't pass through his body.

"I'm surprised that you even came here," the old lady admitted, her gray eyes darting around, "especially with all of those horrifying rumors flying around."

"Aren't the ghosts coming back to the Pokemon Tower?" Ash remembered the League worker saying something about this.

Agatha nodded, a tense gesture. "I'm not sure if you saw it, but the floors were all full of ghosts, flying around the skies in the Pokemon Tower."

He shook his head. "The only pokemon I saw was Haunter."

The elite trainer laughed sharply, a stark contrast from her polite chuckle earlier. "Why am I not surprised? Here, take a look through this." She handed him a strange device, something that closely resembled a telescope. _Silph Scope_, it read. Ash peered through the golden scope and nearly yelped in terror.

Thousands of pokemon floated in the room and skies outside. Their purple, gaseous bodies glowed dimly in the reverse world that he saw. Unable to continue staring through the scope, Ash quickly removed it from his face, handing it back to Agatha. Shivers were racketing down his spine as he suddenly became aware of the feeling of hundreds of little ghosts pressing themselves up against him, leaving their ghostly trails across his body as they stumbled around in confusion at not being able to pass through him.

"I feel _violated_," Ash admitted, wrapping his arms around his body. With a shock, he realized that he couldn't feel his fingers.

Agatha seemed to notice. "Get out of here," she ordered quickly, pointing at the stairs, "the ghosts have spotted you. They know you're here."

Ash didn't need to be told twice. The trainer sprinted down the stairs, leaving the elite ghost trainer alone. _She's there for a reason_, Ash told himself, _she'll be fine_. He was on the fifth floor when a massive explosion rattled the entire tower, throwing him off his feet as he tumbled down to the fourth floor. He quickly scrambled back up as the tower shook with more explosions and the floor started crumbling.

Jumping down the last flight of stairs, Ash ran harder than he had ever ran before to get out of the area. He burst out the front entrance of the Pokemon Tower, shrieking in terror as the sky swirled with darkness, the sun distorted by thousands of ghosts. Ghastly and Haunters screamed through the air, moaning and groaning as massive flashes of light exploded from the tip of the tower on the seventh floor.

_That escalated quickly_, Ash thought, panting. A harsh sound of metal on metal grated in the air as ghosts burst out of the empty mansions, screaming and crying with a horrible vengeance. They rushed at him, knocking him to the ground, before rushing back up to the masses of ghosts swirling through the sky. Another mass explosion took place, the shockwave causing one of the large pillars at the base of the tower to crumble.

Getting back on his feet, Ash thought about Agatha alone in the Pokemon Tower. Elite Four or not, there was no way that she could face all these ghosts alone. The choice, to him, was obvious. Ash, guided by his hero complex, sprinted back up the stairs. The higher and higher he got, the more ghosts appeared in the rooms and the more dethatched he felt from his body.

Strangely, Ash could feel his heart beat heavily in his chest as he lost the feeling in his legs. He tripped and fell but didn't feel pain, immediately getting back up and continuing up the stairs. The more ghosts there were, the more numb Ash became until he felt as if he had completely lost control of his body.

Ash randomly grabbed and threw his pokeballs, relying on muscle memory and sight to ensure that his pokemon were released. The flashes of light was warped by the surrounding ghosts, and when Ash commanded them to clear a path to the center of the room, he couldn't hear his own voice. A dull roar of thousands of ghosts pervaded his senses.

Charmander, Bagon, and Haunter did a good job of clearing out the weak Ghastly that were blocking their way, using jets of fire and Dragon Breath to cut a path to Agatha. She was standing around a strange shrine that Ash hadn't noticed before, shimmering back and forth between the physical world and the ghost world.

She seemed shocked that Ash returned and glared at him angrily, her mouth moving but no sounds coming out. The physical world and the ghost world blended together at the shrine of the Pokemon Tower, and Ash felt more and more lifeless as each second passed. Agatha had a hollow look in her eyes, and there was an odd shine around her that was being sucked away by the ghosts.

Then Ash looked around him and realized that the same thing wasn't happening to him. Even Bagon and Charmander looked like they were affected. The massive amount of ghost types were trying to suck away his life force, but something stopped them. Ash, now completely deaf save for a dull roar behind his ears, watched Agatha point wildly at something behind him. He turned around and had a double take.

The physical world was gone. Ash stood at the top of a massive mountain, black, phantom clouds raining fire onto the ground below. Twisted versions of trees sprang up from the dark soil under him, millions upon millions of Ghastly and Haunter swirling in the fields below him, slowly crawling up the mountain like a disease.

At the peak of mountain, Agatha stood next to a shimmering shrine. There was a massive, godly shriek in the sky, the first sound Ash had heard since reentering the pokemon tower, which dwarfed all other sounds in comparison. The sheer power behind the roar sent shockwaves through the air, knocking Ash off of his feet and scattering all the ghosts in the area. The mountain rumbled, gurgling with hidden power.

"Ash, what are you doing here?" Agatha demanded, her voice sounding distant and detached.

Getting back up with a groan, the absence of ghosts returning feeling to his body, Ash answered with a simple: "I thought you needed help."

"And what type of help do you think a rookie trainer can be of to me?" she snapped, waving an impatient hand at him. "Upstarts, thinking that they're so heroic…"

Ash, not catching the last part, grinned sheepishly, mentally checking on Bagon, Charmander, and Haunter. They were all fine. A little worn, but fine nonetheless. "What's going on?"

The old woman sighed, obviously annoyed. "Welcome to the realm of ghosts," she smiled crookedly, waving her hands in a grandiose gesture. "The Pokemon Tower was built at the point where two worlds, the physical world and the ghost world, met. This place is a crossroads, allowing spirits to travel back and forth. But the number of ghosts allowed back out has always been regulated."

Ash nodded, semi grasping the concept. "Something must've been wrong with the regulator then." He shuddered, remembering the thousands of ghosts surrounding the Pokemon Tower.

"Yep, this old thing." Agatha kicked the shrine, which shimmered angrily under her touch. "I've only seen it once, when I was very young. I chanced upon the Pokemon Tower at the wrong time, and the ghosts took me in. Long story short, I managed to escape by sealing the portal with a key."

The trainer blinked, not knowing about this side of Agatha. He wondered why she was telling him this. "Why would you tell me this? I'm a complete stranger."

"It's not like we have long to live," the woman revealed simply, her voice a resigned tone to it. "But I'm not going down without a fight. The last time these spirits took me…"

For the first time, Ash saw fear lace through one of the Elite Four, causing the strong woman to shake slightly. "We'll do it," he asserted, rubbing his cold hands together. "Where's the key?" Agatha wasn't paying attention, however.

"This is where the fun starts." With a shaky finger, the woman pointed at something beyond his vision. "I know you can't see it yet, but we've stumbled right into its kingdom."

"Into _whose _kingdom?" Ash squinted his eyes, trying to see beyond the phantom clouds. Thunder crackled in the distance, red lightning shining beyond the clouds of ash. "What is this place?"

"In Kanto, we call this the ghost world, but halfway across the world in Sinnoh, it's known as the distortion world, or the reverse world." She laughed hollowly, rubbing her eyes. Her pokemon and Ash's Haunter seemed to cower in fear, sensing something that he couldn't. "And its king is a powerful pokemon that we know only as Giratina, the renegade pokemon."

"Never heard of it," Ash admitted, still scanning the clouds. The absence of ghosts or sound worried him. "Sinnoh always had those fake, crazy creation myths."

"Crazy? Sure," the elite trainer conceded, shaking her head slightly. "Fake? I think not."

A draconian roar, a million times the might of all of Lance's dragons combined, shattered Ash's eardrums, causing him to clutch his head in pain as it started ringing, collapsing to his knees. The mountain rumbled unforgivingly, clouds blasted away by the aerial shockwaves generated from the devastating roar.

A terrifying pokemon emerged from the clouds, a gigantic gray serpentine with six huge shadows streaming behind its main body. Its underbelly had thick black and red stripes; sharp and deadly spikes protruding from its sides as its angular head, shadowing red eyes that screamed of hatred, turned to stare at the two intruders.

A small, strangled noise came out of Ash's throat as he stared at the king of the ghost world, or the distortion world, or the reverse world, or _whatever –_ all he knew was that he needed to get the hell out of there. The legendary emanated terror in its purest form, thick tendrils of darkness streaming from its body as it pulsed with barely suppressed rage and power.

Suddenly, Ash felt very, very small, like an ant staring at a Gyarados. Here was a pokemon that was probably capable of destroying the world, and it was staring at _him_.

"We need to get out of here," Agatha whispered, not daring to move. The beast circled the location in the air almost lazily, daring them to do something.

"Where's the key? Don't we need a key?" Ash hissed, remaining frozen. He warily watched the monstrous king fly in the air only to land gracefully, resting at a mere hundred feet away from them.

Agatha remained silent, and Ash, not able to handle the silence for any longer, turned around to look at her. Following her eyes, he spotted a bright, blue orb just underneath Giratina's massive serpentine body. Slowly turning back around, Ash looked at the shrine, now permanently in the ghost world due to the presence of its ruler, and saw that there was an empty slot just for a sphere to slide in.

"Distract it," Ash ordered, steeling himself for what was about to come. He didn't want to sit around in the ghost world for the rest of his life. "I'll get the orb. Guys," he said to his pokemon, "listen to Agatha here. Follow her instructions to a 't'.""

Nodding solemnly, Agatha whispered instructions to his and her pokemon, all of them seemingly terrified in the presence of one of their gods. She stared back at Ash, her wide gray eyes conveying a certain amount of respect. "If we die, it'll be a shame, because then the world will be rid of a beautiful woman and a stupid, brave hero like you."

Ash grinned in appreciation, knowing that was about as close as a compliment that he was ever going to get from Agatha. Then, after flashing her a thumbs up, ran straight towards the renegade pokemon.

At first the king of the distortion world had no idea what was going on. Then something clicked in its mind and a devastating orange ball of energy began to form near its mouth. Ash never halted his sprint, hoping that blind luck would save him from the Hyper Beam. Then, beams of energy struck the forming attack, causing it to explode in the renegade pokemon's face and forcing it to recoil before taking off to the skies.

Ash scooped up the blue orb and it glowed at his touch. It was about the size of his head yet seemed incredibly light, feeling about ten pounds. A massive roar shook his stance, almost causing Ash to fall to the ground, but the boy held firm and sprinted back towards Agatha, adrenaline forcing the fatigue away from his body. He couldn't see the battle between Giratina and the pokemon, but there were cataclysmic explosions everywhere, the powerful ones temporarily blinding him.

Before he knew it, the shrine was right in front of him, shimmering under the brunt of the attacks. Agatha had used the ancient stone as cover, but her pokemon were devastated, only the two Gengar left standing. Ash saw them fire one last Shadow Ball before collapsing, enough to temporarily distract Giratina. His own pokemon were knocked out as well, Haunter and Charmander were unconscious but shivering, and Bagon, the lone survivor, looked like she was barely clinging onto consciousness.

After giving Agatha the orb, Ash returned all of his pokemon. They had earned their rest. With a flash of red, the elite trainer's unconscious pokemon returned to their pokeballs. It was a stroke of luck that they had all survived, but Ash didn't know the severity of their wounds.

With a surprising amount of strength, Agatha lifted the orb up and it seemed to gravitate towards its keyhole, sliding in with a final _click_. Ash held his breath, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did.

Giratina returned, roaring its fury to its heart's content, whipping up a cloud of ash and dispelling it all with one sound. Ash realized that the combined efforts of his and Agatha's pokemon didn't even lay a scratch on the legendary, and it was just getting started. The middle of the pokemon's head crest glowed blue as its body turned nightmare black, instantly disappearing.

For a brief moment of silence, the world was still.

"GET DOWN!" Agatha screamed, the two diving to the ground as Giratina suddenly appeared out of nowhere, barely missing the two. A part of Giratina barely managed to clip Ash's shoulder, just a measly _inch _of the pokemon hitting his body, yet he was sent sprawling, nearly falling off the side of the mountain.

His shoulder screamed in pain, and Ash was more than certain that it was completely broken. His head became woozy, the pain being semi neutralized by the fact that he couldn't feel the left side of his body anymore. Ash couldn't even move his hand. When he stood up, his limb just hung there uselessly.

"Ash, come on!"

Ash reluctantly tore his gaze away from his appendage, noticing that a large portal had opened up. Agatha was already on the other side, her form flickering and voice distant. With an iron will, Ash forced himself to slowly limp towards the portal, his legs feeling like lead. Thunder and red lightning flashed and screamed from the ashen clouds as it began to drizzle fire, burning Ash's skin in the places where they touched.

But now he was numb to the pain.

The trainer trudged onwards, not for his own survival, but for the sake of his pokemon. Bagon, Charmander, and even Haunter, none of them deserved to become slaves to the ghosts of the distortion world and the tyrant of a king that was Giratina. Speaking of which, where was the pokemon –

Another ground shaking roar sent Ash to his knees, the sharp rocks in the soil digging into his skin. Returning to his feet, Ash saw the portal flicker and disappear.

"No…" he all but sobbed, the disappearance of the portal spelling out his doom. _"Come back!"_

Something clicked inside of Ash. In a blink, the portal was back again, with Agatha waving frantically, her mouth issuing words that he couldn't hear. The words were dead to him. He was already dead.

Taking to his feet again, Ash leapt between the boundaries of two worlds, the portal beginning to flicker again. The distortion world and the real world blended, the bland of the Pokemon Tower mixing with the hellish landscape of the distortion world. His jump seemed to be stuck at its zenith, slowly gravitating back towards the ground.

He was so close, _so close_, to being back in the real world.

Agatha reached for him with her withered hand, but he felt something else grab him from behind and start tugging at him. Shadows tethered him to the distortion world, grabbing at him, leaving searing marks across his skin and burning through his clothes where they touched. One especially large tendril of darkness bound itself around his waist and started squeezing, slowly pulling him back to Giratina. The king wasn't going to let the intruder go that easily. Ash heard the elite trainer scream, but it was muted, distorted. Perhaps he had lost too much blood.

Here he was, stuck in between the real world and the reverse world, slowly being drawn back towards the reverse world by Giratina's obedient shadows. The last thing Ash remembered was releasing his pokemon into the physical world before blacking out.

**– Ω –**

"_Dad, what's it like to be the very best trainer in the world?"_

"_I don't know about the best. There are certainly trainers better than me out there."_

"_But you're the Kanto Champion. Even if you gave the title back to Lance, we all know that you're better than him."_

"_Being a pokemon trainer isn't all about being the best. A pokemon trainer, at heart, cares for and trains his pokemon. Becoming strong is just a side effect, basically."_

"_But how did you get so strong?"_

"_Hardcore dedication, intense training, and an insurmountable level of love, kiddo. Remember, keeping your pokemon healthy comes before winning."_

"_What if I'm not as good as you, daddy?"_

"_Don't you worry about that. Follow my advice and your heart and soon your name will be even more popular than mine. They'll start comparing their little children to you instead of me."_

"_You bet it, dad. I'm going to beat you one day."_

"_Sure you are. We'll battle one day at the top, don't you worry about that."_

**– Ω –**

Ash jolted awake, tearing some medicinal equipment off of him by accident. Immediately, a rush of pain hit him full force, multiple burns, bruises, and cuts aggravated by his sudden movement, screaming in protest. Raw agony tore through his veins like fire eating away at grass, promising endless pain until it was gone.

His vision was blurry and his hearing was screwed up. There was no feeling in his left arm. Sinking back into his incredibly uncomfortable position, Ash realized that he was in a hospital.

Soft hands ghosted over him, a soothing-sounding voice coming from a blur that was completely unrecognizable. Ash shut his eyes, whimpering at the pain, feeling someone inject him with something. Painkillers instantly entered his system, slowly leaving his body tingling and numb. It didn't feel good, but it didn't feel _bad _either.

All he knew that he was alive. In the physical realm. Tears pooled in his eyes as Ash marveled at his own luck. The last thing he remembered was Giratina slowly pulling him back into the distortion world with its deadly shadows…

A sharp pain burned his sides, and Ash let out a shameless scream. The tendrils of darkness, where it had gripped him, had left long, black scars, and thinking back on the memory brought back such great pain that even painkillers couldn't stop the brutal onslaught. In response, the scars glowed a dull red.

Ash could've been killed. It would've been so easy for Giratina just to end him. And then what? Would he be doomed to roam the distortion world as a ghost, living in that hellish version of the physical realm? Is that what awaited everyone in the afterlife? Nothing but a vast, ashen landscape that rained fire instead of water… the disparity of the situation was starting to dig into Ash. If that's where everybody ended up, what was the point of trying to live if everyone ended up in the distortion world?

A stinging pain on his face brought Ash back to reality, ending his hysteria. His vision eventually sharpened, showing a furious, orange haired girl with swirling oceanic eyes screaming her head off at him. With a vengeance, his hearing returned as well, although Ash wished that it hadn't.

" – do you even have an _idea _of how much _worrying _I had done for your _stupid butt_ in the past day? And now, after you returned from being a _freaking vegetable_, the first words coming out of your mouth is _what's the point of living in this world anymore? _Are you _kidding me_? I can't even _begin – _"

"Mist," Ash began weakly, realizing he must've voiced his thoughts out loud, trying to get her to stop, but the ex-Gym Leader didn't stop her rant.

"Don't you 'Mist' me, Ketchum!" Ash gulped, knowing that she was _extremely _mad when she used his last name. They both agreed on using Ash's last name only when it was absolutely necessary, avoiding any unnecessary attention. "You said that you were going to catch a pokemon…" her voice lost its rage, becoming exponentially smaller, "and I told you that when you came back as a vegetable, I'd be laughing, but…"

"That wasn't a challenge," Misty finished lamely, a temporary slip in her tough façade showing her soft side. "I didn't actually want you to come back with Agatha – _gosh_, Ash, the _Elite Four?_ – carrying you like a little baby, both of you looking like you've come from hell and back."

"Maybe because they did," a deep voice answered.

The outline of a man stood in the doorway, his great height rather intimidating, but after facing Giratina, Ash didn't find himself as scared as he would have been. The man stepped forward, and as he did, Ash could make out more features of the stranger, like his red hair that was spiked backwards, or a similarly crimson cape hanging from his broad shoulders.

Recognition laced through his unfeeling veins. Ash knew who this person was. All of Kanto did. But it was Misty who spoke, her voice softer than a whisper, shrouded with awe.

"Ash, say hi to Lance."

* * *

**Well, hopefully that chapter was good enough for your expectations! Little Ash here will be getting himself into all sorts of trouble while collecting badges and pokemon due to his little hero complex. This won't be the only time Ash sees the distortion world and Giratina.**

**I hope you guys didn't mind my connection of the distortion world and the ghost world. It seemed original, in my mind at least.**

**If you guys like it, leave a follow. If you loved it, favorite it. I worked pretty hard on this chapter, so a review would be nice.**

**The poll will be reposted when the Kanto storyline is complete.**

**Have a nice day.**

**Poll is up for Charmander's nickname!**


	4. First Encounter

**EDIT: I have decided to include Unova in this story after playing Pokemon White.**

* * *

**Thank you guys so much! The 80+ reviews, 160+ favorites, and 210+ follows is more than I could have ever imagined. Also, the poll for Charmander's nickname is still up.**

**Bagon will receive a nickname when she becomes a Salamence.**

**_Warning: _****one part of this chapter gets slightly, erh, uncomfortable… it alludes to some pretty mature stuff. You'll know it when you read it. Don't worry, it's really nothing specific.**

**Ages**

**Ash: 10**

**Misty: 11**

**White: 13**

* * *

AU. Instead of receiving a Pikachu as his starter, Ash Ketchum is only given an empty pokeball and a sheepish grin from Professor Oak. Anger and spite clouding his soul, he sets out only to find a ray of hope in the form of a small, injured Bagon. It's funny how a tiny twist of fate can change one's destiny forever. Dark, smarter Ash – various shippings included.

* * *

The Wanderer

**Chapter III**

"_Ash, say hi to Lance."_

"Champion Lance…" Ash stuttered, eyes wide, staring at the legend before him, "it's an honor to meet you."

"Likewise. Just call me Lance," the champion responded easily, his voice deep and commanding. "It's nice to meet the son of one of the rare few to best me in battle. It makes me realize how old I am." He laughed, a rich sound. Old? Lance looked thirty at the oldest.

"Anyways," he continued, words flowing out of his mouth like water in a stream, "you've been out for a day. I'm sure Miss Waterflower here has told you that."

At these words, Misty flushed so red that even her ears were turning crimson. Lance offered a grin, throwing an arm around her shoulder good-naturedly. "So, Agatha's been nonstop worrying about you. I've never seen the lady care so much for another human before, except maybe for Oak." He chuckled at a joke Ash didn't get.

Looking at Misty, Lance gently ruffled her hair with his large hand. "Do me a favor, Misty, and go fetch Agatha for me? She'll love to know that Ash has woken up."

Misty quickly scurried away, eager to fulfill Lance's request. There was just something about the champion that made Ash want to follow him, to listen to him. No wonder the press and newspapers labeled him as a heroic figure. The man in front of him was the living example of a true hero.

"So, Ash – I hope you don't mind me using your first name – I've heard from Agatha about what happened at the Pokemon Tower," Lance began, taking a seat in a chair. "Very heroic of you to go back for her. Not many people would charge back to danger, especially under those circumstances."

"Thank you," Ash responded timidly. He was still slightly in awe at the presence of the champion of Kanto _and _Johto.

"But I must ask you a question. Why would you go back?"

Taken back by the question, Ash hesitated a little bit. He was wondering that exact same question himself. "I don't know," he answered honestly, not wanting to lie in the presence of the champion, "I guess it was just a gut instinct. When I left the Pokemon Tower, I saw thousands of ghosts flying around and I thought that even a trainer of Lady Agatha's caliber couldn't handle all of them."

"So you returned, with the intent of rescuing her?" Lance asked again, surprising the boy. Ash wasn't expecting an interrogation, especially one from the champion of Kanto.

The young trainer nodded. "I couldn't leave her alone and take on all of them by herself, you know?"

The dragon trainer smiled, as if pleased at his responses. "I see Agatha didn't lie. At least one of Pallet's prodigies lives up to their name."

"_Pallet's prodigies_?" Ash quoted, curious. "What does that mean?"

Lance chuckled deeply, amusement dancing in his eyes. "At some gatherings, I have run into the good Professor Oak a few times. He spent the entire time singing praises of two trainers – one, who he raised as his own, and the other, who worked with him in the field."

There was only one other person that fit Oak's description: Gary Oak, the professor's grandson; the other "prodigy" of Pallet. Ash's thoughts went sour at the thought, memories washing over him. A broken half of a pokeball was still in his backpack, more of a trophy than anything else – the sign of a friendship's end.

"He said he hasn't seen or heard of you since you left for your journey, no?" Lance's tone was light, but there was some deeper meaning behind it. "Haven't been calling home for a long time?"

The room grew silent, filled only with the beeping of medical equipment. Ash had many questions that he wanted to ask, but he couldn't figure out which one to say. Even a tiny tidbit of advice from Lance would be enough for Ash, yet the little tidbit of information about Professor Oak darkened Ash's mood slightly.

"Do you remember what happened in the distortion world?" Lance inquired suddenly, throwing Ash out of his musings.

The question was really out of the blue. Memories flashed before Ash's eyes, the shadowy scars that Giratina gave him searing with a sullen pain. Giratina's brutal scream haunted him; the scream of a pokemon – so violent that it was banished from the real world – echoing in his mind.

Ash shut his eyes, trying to drown out the horror crawling up his veins, piercing his sullen heart. "No – " he forced out, recalling the grip of shadows around his stomach, " – I don't remember anything."

Lance frowned at the gnarled way the response came out. "Agatha says you were brought back into the distortion world by Giratina's shadows and then spit back out a minute later. In the distortion world, Giratina controls time, so we have no clue how long you were in there. You don't remember any of that?"

The news hit Ash like a bullet train, and even while laying down, he felt his legs weaken. "No," he reaffirmed, voice shaky, "not a thing."

The champion sighed, a worried look crossing his face. "Well, I suppose you don't know how you got those scars, or how your arm magically re-healed itself? I hate to be the one telling you this, but Ash, Giratina marked you for _death_."

"What?" Ash spluttered, feeling sick in a completely unrelated way to the medicine coursing through his bloodstream.

"It branded you," Lance elaborated, a dark look crossing his eye, "as legendries often do, like how Moltres gives its feather to a trainer that it thinks possesses a pure heart. It's another way of saying that you belong to Giratina now. Nobody would dare to kill you, less they dare to face the wrath of the renegade pokemon."

"But isn't this a blessing, then?"

Lance solemnly shook his head. "No, it's a curse with a benefit. Because in marking you for death, Giratina tells everyone that your life basically belongs to the king of the distortion world from now on."

Ash paled considerably, processing this new information. He certainly wasn't going to revisit the ghost world anytime soon. The sounds of withering shadows and taunting laughter teased his sanity, disappearing after a few moments. Forever the renegade would haunt him.

"Don't worry," the champion assured, "it's not as bad as you think." Ash frowned.

Noticing how the boy didn't seem to believe him, Lance continued. "Between you and me," Lance's voice lowered considerably as he peeled back his long, black sleeve to reveal a single, golden feather burned into his skin, "you're not the only one to be marked by a legendary."

Before Ash could ask Lance to elaborate, Lance's Pokegear started ringing. With an annoyed grunt, the champion stood up, rolling back down his sleeve. "My apologies, Ash. I have to go, there are pressing matters that I must attend to." He tapped at his Pokegear thoughtfully, giving Ash a broad smile. "I'm expecting great things of you, Ash. I'll be seeing you in the future for sure."

Ash glowed at his praise, offering a quick "thank you" before the champion left the room, leaving him suddenly feeling very lonely and disappointed at the hurried way the champion left. It was a rare opportunity to even _see _the champion, but some part of Ash really wanted Lance to stay around a little more. He had so many questions to ask the legendary trainer, but the meeting was too brief.

In the end, Ash was still glad that he had an opportunity to talk to Lance. The champion probably had a lot of important things to do and just taking the time off of his job to fly all the way to Lavender Town to thank him was already more than enough. Ash would have been placated by a simple letter of thanks.

Yawning sleepily, Ash snuggled into the warm hospital bed. The rush of adrenaline while meeting the dragon trainer had left him, leaving Ash with a sense of morphine-induced drowsiness. Misty was getting Agatha, but maybe that would have to wait…

Sleep overtook him in its warm cocoon, bringing darkness to his mind.

**– Ω –**

Ash left the hospital bed a day later, finally able to walk around without throwing up. His left arm felt weak, but it was good to have feeling in it nevertheless.

It was when he was changing that Ash the scars.

Long, dark tendrils of burnt flesh marked the places where Giratina's shadows had touched him, six in total, each resembling one of Giratina's ghostly streamers. Patches of red skin showcased where the fiery rain had split his flesh, slowly fading away in the due process of time.

But even the six scars from Giratina, which radiated otherworldly darkness, couldn't compare to the terrifying design imprinted onto his left shoulder, where Giratina had struck. Getting clipped by a measly _inch _of the renegade pokemon was enough to leave a gruesome scar, with dark fractals spiraling away from it like cracks in the ground, spreading all the way to the bottom of his ribs and to the elbow of his left arm.

Appalled by what he saw, Ash quickly slipped on his trademark shirt, still warm from the drying machine. Some parts of the scar still showed, but it wasn't as noticeable as the terrifying side effect of receiving the scars; shadows poured out of the wounds, giving Ash a murky aura, shrouded by darkness. It looked like he bathed in a liquid pool of gloom and it was seeping off of him, shadows leaking out of his clothes like perspiration.

And his eyes… _Arceus_, they were still red, but not the dark red that his father passed on to him. It was the same demonic shade of the renegade pokemon's, a bright, iridescent red that glowed eerily, glinting orange at times and swirling around like it had a mind of its own. It was the same pair of eyes that haunted his dreams at night, and now Ash was forced to share a trait with a pokemon that he was beginning to hate _so much_.

"Ash, hurry up," Misty called from outside of the hospital room, tapping on the door. "I don't want to stay here for any longer than I have to."

Grunting in response, Ash was about to open the door when his hand suddenly stopped halfway. What would Misty say? If Ash was appalled just by looking at himself in a mirror, what would Misty's reaction be? Would she be disgusted, too? Ash found his hand steadied by the apprehension of rejection, not daring to show himself in front of the ex-Gym Leader.

The door was suddenly torn open, revealing Misty. The girl took one look at Ash's nervous stance and immediately hugged him tightly, rocking slightly back and forth. Ash's cheeks fired up, glowing red, as he awkwardly patted the ex-Gym Leader's back. She quickly withdrew, her cheeks also a delighted shade of red.

They stood, staring at each other for a while, before Misty finally spoke. "Don't worry, you idiot, you look the same."

Ash offered her a small smile, letting loose a breath of air that he didn't know he was holding in. Something occurred to the trainer. "Where are my pokeballs?"

"I got them," the girl assured, holding up three shrunken pokeballs. Ash quickly grabbed them from her, clipping them to his belt gently, as if he was afraid that he'd crush them.

"Thank you," Ash mumbled, a stupid smile on his face. He could've said more, but Misty seemed to understand how grateful he was. The pair walked out of the Pokemon Center, Ash thanking a few Nurse Joys along the way, and out into the bright sunshine of Lavender Town.

Blinded by the intense light, Ash hissed and covered his eyes, slowly adjusting to the sun. Misty laughed at him, guiding him towards the edges of town with an arm pulling on his own. His eyes soon regained their focus, and Ash saw people pointing at him and whispering, some even running up to him, shaking his hand feverishly, and then running away.

Before Ash could even think about asking Misty, she answered his unsaid question. "I brought Agatha to your room, but you were already asleep. She had to return to her duties as the Elite Four, but she managed to tell everyone that you dispelled all the ghosts from the Pokemon Tower before she left. You're basically a hero to them."

"Agatha did more than I," Ash admitted, frowning. "I don't deserve this praise."

"The one time I compliment you," Misty complained, a playful tone in her voice, "you end up belittling it as if it were nothing." Without a response, the two continued on, stopping by a Pokemart to buy some extra potions and pokeballs. There they were flocked by citizens of Lavender Town, thanking him for chasing away the ghosts and allowing them to return to their homes.

Ash tried to tell them that Agatha did most of the work, but they wouldn't listen to him. The story was twisted into ridiculous versions of the truth, one trainer asking Ash if he _actually _defeated Giratina and caught it in a pokeball. The young boy would feverishly deny the claim and grabbed Misty in order to get out of the crowded Pokemart.

Twenty minutes later, Ash and Misty found themselves on the edge of Lavender Town and at the beginning of Route 12, finally alone. The route was basically an extremely large platform over water, with logs stretching out over water for as far as the eye could see. It hugged the ragged cliffs, following the shoreline until it gave away to trees and joined up with Route 11, which was in the middle of Route 12. Ash was about to ask Misty why in the world they didn't take Route 7 to Saffron City and then Route 6 to Vermillion, but then realization struck him.

Route 12 was a fisherman's paradise. So far, this entire journey, Ash had been neglecting his companion's desire to become the greatest water pokemon trainer in history. This would be an excellent place for Misty to stash up on some powerful water types before continuing Ash's quest for all of the gym badges.

"Hold on, Misty," Ash called, halting their steady pace. The girl flashed him an irate glare, a fishing rod already in her hands. "I know you want to fish, but hang on a sec."

He pulled out his Pokedex and took out Haunter's pokeball. Ash knew that Haunter had a pretty decent move set, but Ash didn't know the extent of its power. The device scanned the pokeball for a few seconds, revealing that Haunter was a female with the ability _Levitate_. Surprise, surprise, she possessed a naughty nature. She also knew the moves _Hypnosis, Lick, Sucker Punch, Mean Look, Curse, Night Shade, _and _Dream Eater._

It was, without a doubt, an excellent starting move set, but the problem was, Ash didn't know how to train Haunter so that it could become stronger. Her gaseous form would not allow rocks to be tied onto, so that was out of the question. As a team member, Haunter would be excellent at giving status ailments to the other team. For now, Ash would just train her by using her in battles with any trainers that they met on Route 12.

"Come on out, guys," Ash called, tossing his pokeballs in the air. In flashes of light, Charmander, Bagon, and Haunter all appeared, looking around at their surroundings before refocusing their gaze back on their trainer. Charmander blanched at the sight of the ocean and Bagon laughed at him, a dry, grating sound.

After commanding Bagon to use Rock Tomb, Ash tied rocks to Charmander and Bagon, watching with satisfaction as Charmander easily took on more rocks than he had the last time he carried weights. Haunter gazed at them curiously, spinning around in the air and sometimes laughing in Ash's ear.

He looked at Misty, who was pale. "Okay, let's go." Ash decided not to mention how scared she looked in the presence of Haunter.

The company advanced, stepping on the wooden logs. They were suspended above the water, with stilt-like columns of wood underneath them for support. Charmander looked extremely nervous, as would any fire type so close to a sea of water, and stayed in the middle of the route. Bagon jogged alongside her friend, chattering in their pokemon language aimlessly while Haunter soared in the air above them, giggling like a little girl.

"So, what's the game plan?" Ash asked Misty, who was seemingly deep in thought.

The girl jolted out of her reverie, almost swinging her fishing rod at Ash before realizing where she was. "Oh, I was thinking we could camp in Route 11 for a few days and come out here to fish every now and then."

"Good idea," the trainer responded, keeping his eye on his pokemon, "I'm not in a hurry to Vermillion anyways. I'll help you catch some water types if you'd like."

Misty offered a sly grin at him. "Are you sure that _you _won't be the one needing help?"

"I'm not planning on catching a pokemon any time soon," he shrugged, dismissing Misty's jab at him. "I want to make sure that they're all strong before moving on."

"Are you sure?" Misty wondered, stopping and staring at Ash. "There's a few Horsea in the area. Are you sure you don't want another dragon on your team?"

"I'm sure." The boy glanced at Bagon and Charmander happily jogging alongside each other. "Charmander doesn't have a lot of experience or training right now. He's stronger, but right now he's a blunt tool and I intend to sharpen him into a sword."

His companion laughed at his metaphor. "Wow, look at Ash the philosopher."

"Shut – ey! Haunter, don't do that!"

Too late. The ghost dove straight through Charmander, the lizard pokemon whimpering and stumbling backwards. He nearly fell into the water, and he would have had Bagon not grabbed his stubby little arm and yanked him forward with such force that Charmander face planted into the ground.

"Haunter!" Ash called, his heartbeat accelerating at that close call. Things would've been a lot worse if Charmander had fallen into the sea. "You could've seriously hurt Charmander."

Said pokemon stood up, snorting some flames. He waved down Ash, as if saying, _don't worry, I'm fine. _Sometimes the small lizard's pride was larger than his trainer's.

Haunter materialized right in front of Ash and licked him happily, giggling when Ash started shivering. "Haunter, you've got to be able to listen. That's the only way you'll become stronger." The ghost giggled again, not caring about the promise of power. She seemed to prefer having fun over training hard and growing strong.

The group returned their journey, Ash and Misty traveling in an enjoyable silence. The boy was busy watching his pokemon, making sure none of them got hurt, and Misty was on the look out for any good fishing spots. They chatted occasionally, Ash asking questions about Misty's life at Cerulean.

Lunch came and passed by, the two trainers slowly nearing the intersection with Route 11. They had run into a few fishermen sitting lazily on the pier, too absorbed in watching their fishing line to care about Ash's offer to battle. Finally, around two in the afternoon, the duo was back on solid ground in Route 11. Charmander roared his approval, shooting a flame into the sky.

"Let's set up camp there," Misty pointed at a small flat ground amongst the trees that lined the edges of Route 11. "It's close enough to Route 12 so that we won't have to walk too far in order to fish every day."

Ash nodded his consent and helped Misty on pitching her tent. Misty loved sleeping in tents while Ash preferred to sleep outside, under the broad night sky of Kanto with his pokemon resting beside him. That arrangement was also for the better, since Misty would be able to have the privacy that a girl typically needs while changing and what not – she brought along three different outfits, all the exact same yellow shirt, shorts, and suspenders, a far cry from Ash, who never changed.

They were two different types of backpackers; Ash was a minimalist, bringing only what was absolutely necessary, and Misty brought along tents, cooking supplies, water collectors, clothes, underwear, even shampoo and conditioner. She was a Gym Leader and came from a wealthy family, so she was able to afford the type of backpacks that acted like pokeballs, able to take large objects and store them in a tiny amount of space. It wasn't a concept that Ash understood clearly, but it was like capturing a tent in a pokeball and putting it in a backpack.

After setting up the tent and Ash's sleeping mat, they two decided to split up. Misty would go to a fishing spot she had found while on Route 12 and Ash would train his pokemon in the forest. With a warning – _"Don't have me come back and find you as a vegetable, Ash" – _Misty left, bringing only a fishing rod and pokeballs. She promised to return before sunset, leaving Ash alone with his pokemon.

"Alright Haunter," he called, the troublesome pokemon appearing right in front of him, "show me what you got. Night Shade on that tree."

Cackling maniacally, shadows swirled into existence around the ghost as she fired them at the tree, creating small explosions where the shadows struck. But it wasn't enough to fell the tree, which teetered slightly at the attack but remained tall and firm.

"I want you to keep using Night Shade until you can destroy a tree in one move," Ash instructed, "and then, when you show me you can do it, I'll let you play around. Deal?"

At the mention of free time, Haunter nodded vigorously and disappeared. Soon, the sound of small explosions hitting wood could be heard far off in the distance. Mentally congratulating himself on being able to motivate Haunter, Ash refocused his attention on Charmander and Bagon. He took the weights off of the two pokemon and fed them potions to bring them back to full strength, deciding that it would be useless for them to practice while tired and develop sloppy form.

"Charmander," Ash called, scratching the lizard pokemon on his head, "by the time we get to Vermillion, I want you to be able to use Hone Claws, Dragon Claw, and Flamethrower. You think you can do that for me?"

The pokemon snorted, almost lighting Ash on fire. "Good, Bagon here will teach you all of them. Try your best to follow her example, yeah? Bagon, show him Hone Claws."

Bagon walked up in front of them and held out her arms for Charmander to see. Then, closing her eyes in concentration, the end of the stubby little arms glinted. The lizard nodded enthusiastically, closing his own eyes and frowning in concentration. Ash held his breath, waiting for something to happen.

Nothing did. Charmander's arms remained their original color.

"Try focusing all of your power into your hands," Ash said, remembering how he had taught Bagon this move. "Channel every bit of power."

Hone Claws was a simple concept. All of the power in a pokemon's body goes straight into the arms, tail – if they had one – and legs, greatly increasing its physical attack power. It wasn't particularly hard to learn, either. Once a pokemon knew how to preform the move, it didn't need any more practice to perfect it.

After a few tries of nothing, Ash had Bagon preform the move again. Then, Ash pulled out a his Pokedex and searched for a file of another Charmander using the exact same move and told Charmander to model that. It was an excruciatingly monotonous and repetitive process, with Ash gently prodding Charmander to try harder, but finally, an hour after they had started, Charmander's arms glinted a tiny bit, signifying the correct use of the move.

"Congratulations, Charmander!" Ash cried, patting Charmander on the head. The lizard pokemon growled happily, enjoying the physical affection of his trainer. Bagon merely snorted, using Hone Claws and then smashing a tree to bits without seeming to try very hard.

Dodging the chips of wood that came from the tree, Ash stood slightly dumbfounded at the raw power that Bagon possessed. Sure, dragon types were famous for their abnormal strength, but Bagon had only been with him for a month and a half and already she was insanely powerful. Even better, she displayed none of the usual disobedience that the prideful dragons usually possessed, instead opting to follow every command of Ash's.

"But Bagon here's still got you beat," the trainer admitted, drumming his fingers along Bagon's iron dome. The dragon mewled at his touch, nibbling on the hem of his shirt. "Bagon, show Charmander here how to use Dragon Claw. I'm going to go check on Haunter, see how she's progressing."

He headed off in the general direction of the sound of explosions, growing stronger and stronger as he neared Haunter's location. When he called for his pokemon, Haunter suddenly appeared right in front of him, but where her face should've been was Misty's rotting, dead corpse.

Ash yelped, falling backwards, before the illusion disappeared, a giggling pokemon replacing the terrible sight. "Congratulations Haunter," his voice was trembling, but he forced the surprise and fright out of his system, "that was a good use of Scary Face. Just, next time, please don't use it on me."

Haunter laughed, slightly louder than her girly giggle, as if saying _no promises. _Ash sighed, giving up on reasoning with the ghost, and examined the carnage that lay before him. Haunter, in the past hour, had seriously been improving her Night Shade. Trees were smashed to bits, leaving nothing but small stumps in its place. Ash estimated that about forty trees were destroyed.

The trees would grow back quickly. The forests of Kanto grew quickly.

"Do you think you've gotten it down?" Ash asked the ghost.

Without replying, Haunter summoned tendrils of darkness, thicker than they were before. They shot off, quicker than her first use of the attack at the Pokemon Tower, and struck a thick oak tree a good twenty yards away from them. Her attack had gotten more concentrated, more precise, but even then it wasn't enough to knock over the tree. The explosions left small craters in the thick wood, and the edges were singed from the heat of the blast. Haunter cried out in annoyance, sinking down and almost comically hiding her face with her hands.

"Good job," Ash complimented, trying to cheer up the usually giggly pokemon. When there wasn't a response, Ash continued. "The Night Shade has certainly gotten stronger, faster, and more accurate. It's a large step in the right direction. I didn't expect you to be able to perfect it in an hour, so don't beat yourself up over it. You're making me feel bad."

Haunter suddenly jumped up, sticking her long tongue out at him. Ash realized he had fallen for her trick and chuckled drily, deciding not to berate the pokemon for pranking him since it was his own fault for falling for it.

"You prankster," the trainer sighed, something that he found himself doing a lot in Haunter's presence, "get back to work. You can rest for ten minutes _at most_, but then you must return to practice. If you think you've got it, just find me."

Ash walked back towards camp, having memorized the way that he came. He heard the dull crashes of trees in the background, signifying that his two pokemon were training hard, and when Ash arrived, he was pleasantly surprised. Charmander was using Dragon Claw on the trees, but while they were nowhere near as powerful as Bagon's, he had still managed to achieve the move in half an hour.

It was strange how it had spent Charmander more time to learn Hone Claws than Dragon Claw, but Ash suspected that it had something to do with the fact that the two were similar, so learning one would help speed up the learning process of the other.

"Alright," Ash sat down on a tree stump, studying the two pokemon with bright eyes, "Charmander, let's see what you got."

Charmander chirped in response, raising his right arm. It glowed blue before slashing diagonally at a tree. The attack caused the tree to splinter, but it was not completely smashed to pieces like when Bagon used the attack. Growling in annoyance, Charmander spit a plume of flame at the tree before hacking it down with his left arm, the tree finally collapsing under the stress of Ember and Dragon Claw.

The trainer clapped, Charmander shooting a stream of fire into the air at the response. The little pokemon's chest inflated with his pride, only for the newly found pride to be smashed to pieces when Bagon utterly demolished a tree with a single blow. The dragon wasn't necessarily showing off, just reminding Charmander that he wasn't as good as he thought he was. It was nice to have Bagon around to check the lizard pokemon's growing pride and ego.

Charmander yipped in annoyance, using Dragon Claw on another tree. When it failed to fall in one blow, the pokemon torched it with Ember, turning around and huffing as the tree burned to the ground. Bagon chittered in her pokemon language, seemingly teasing Charmander. The lizard pokemon, in his fury, let loose a jet of flames at the dragon only to watch Bagon withstand the Ember without much trouble. Dragons were resistant towards fire attacks, after all.

"Hey," Ash chided, stopping Charmander from further attacking his starter, "don't be a sore looser. Bagon's more powerful than you are, but that doesn't give you two a reason to fight. We're on a team together. And if you train hard enough, maybe one day you'll become stronger than her, I don't know."

Bagon shook her head in protest, scoffing at the idea of Charmander being stronger than her. The fire type whined at her, looking at Ash as if he was supposed to do something about Bagon's behavior. He shrugged noncommittally, giving Bagon a warning look before searching through his Pokedex, looking for an example of a Charmander using Dragon Claw.

While searching for the file, Ash took breaks from his intense scrutinizing of the Pokedex screen to watch Charmander use Dragon Claw on trees, each blow becoming more and more powerful. Though they were not nearly close in power to Bagon's attacks, they were certainly improving. Ash had long lost track of time, absentmindedly searching and reading miscellaneous things on his Pokedex and watching use Dragon Claw –

"_Ah!" _Ash yelped, falling off of his stump. Haunter's gaseous body suddenly materialized right in front of him, giving Ash a terrible fright. The ghost giggled, giving her trainer a long, cold lick before flying off, spinning around in lazy circles.

Shivering, Ash told Haunter not to do that again, knowing full well that the pokemon would not listen to him. In the future, he'd have to work on her obedience.

"So you think you're ready, Haunter?" Ash assumed. Haunter nodded vigorously, and the boy told his other two pokemon to stop and observe Haunter. The ghost's eyes closed, focusing, and a powerful, single beam of darkness suddenly shot out of her poisonous body, hitting the tree with a single explosion and smashing it to pieces.

"Way to go!" Ash clapped his hands in glee, slightly proud of Haunter's progress. She was evidently smart, being able to figure out that combining the different shadows into one would make the attack even more precise and powerful. Perhaps in the future, Haunter would be able to shoot multiple Night Shades at once. "Have the rest of the day off, Haunter, you've done a wonderful job. Have all the fun you want, but stay in sight and don't disrupt Charmander's training."

Haunter giggled, bumping into Ash before swirling off. He kept the pokemon in his peripheral vision, refocusing his attention on Charmander's Dragon Claw. At the sight of Haunter improving on a move, Charmander worked twice as hard to strengthen his Dragon Claw. His blows were becoming quicker and stronger, knocking down the smaller trees in a single attack. There weren't really any specifics to practice, just to continue using the move over and over.

Ash's philosophy on training was to train _not _until a move was done correctly, but to train until a move was so perfect that it couldn't be anything less than perfect.

Charmander grew tired, as was evidenced in his sloppy blows. He told the lizard pokemon to stop, and he happily consented, plopping down on his trainer's lap. Ash carried the small pokemon back to the campsite, shouting out at Haunter to return to the camp and wait for him there. Bagon followed them happily, chittering with Charmander about something.

Haunter was already waiting for them on top of Misty's tent, offering a cruel mockery of a smirk. It was strange seeing a human expression on a pokemon's face, but Ash shrugged it off.

He left his pokemon outside of their pokeballs as he collected some wood for a fire, an easy task since there were large pieces of wood lying around from all the training that his pokemon had underwent. Now that Ash had thought of it, he destroyed quite a few trees and wouldn't be surprised if somebody got mad at him for it. Hopefully they trained far away from Route 11 so that nobody would notice.

It was dark when Misty returned. She was wet and looked worn out and tired, offering no words until she sat down next to the campfire that Ash had made thanks to Charmander. They ate dinner in silence, Ash noticing and respecting Misty's want for silence and waited patiently for her to explain what had happened when she went fishing.

Dinner was over before Misty finally spoke. "Sorry for being so quiet. I'm just frustrated, that's all." Her voice lacked the usual fire it possessed.

"It's okay," Ash assured, offering a smile. "What happened?"

She sighed, pulling out a pokeball and staring at it wistfully. "I caught a Psyduck in the first hour. It's kinda stupid – most of the time it just waddles around and says 'psy' over and over again in an annoying duck voice."

The boy chuckled, his usual reserved laugh. "And then?"

"I fished up a Gyarados."

"No way!" Ash exclaimed, staring at Misty with awe. People don't just _fish _up a Gyarados – some of the most talented fishermen in the world had never hooked one on their line, and even the ones that did usually didn't have the strength to reel them onto land. "Did you… oh."

It made sense. Misty's frustrated attitude and the connection with the Gyarados was obvious. "You didn't catch it, did you?"

"No," she mumbled resignedly, "I made the catch of my life and I let it slip away."

Ash awkwardly patted her on the back, not knowing what to say. "Well, I'm sure you put up a good fight."

Misty scoffed, "Yeah, for like three hours. I spent _three hours _trying to catch that monster only to have it knock my guys out with a Hyper Beam when it got pissed and then just swam away."

Three hours. That was a long time spent trying to catch a pokemon. "That just makes it worse," Ash admitted, noticing how his hand was still slung around Misty's shoulders. He quickly removed it.

The girl nodded, shrinking and expanding her Psyduck's pokeball over and over again. "Whatever. I'm mad but I'll get over it. How was your afternoon?"

"Haunter's Night Shade's power grew tenfold," Ash informed, listening to Haunter's airy giggle somewhere in the distance. "Charmander learned Hone Claws and Dragon Claw, although we're working on the Dragon Claw part."

Misty whistled appreciatively, surprised at the progress. "Your pokemon are like machines."

"No, they're not," Ash replied defensively, pulling Bagon closer. He drummed his fingers alongside the top of her iron head and she chittered in response. "They just want to become the very best, like I do."

"Okay then, Mr. Pokemon Master," Misty teased, standing up. She gave him a taunting smile before saying, "I'm going to get some sleep. I'm exhausted."

"See you in the morning, Mist."

"Shut up, Ash." She poked her head out of her tent, oceanic eyes glimmering slightly in the light of the campfire. "Don't become a vegetable."

"Go to bed already," the trainer grumbled, "and that was just one time."

Misty laughed before zipping up her tent, the sounds of her getting ready to go to bed quickly replaced by light snoring. Ash marveled at how quickly the girl fell asleep, deducing that the battle between the Gyarados must've really taken a lot of energy out of her.

He laid down on his own sleeping mat, listening to merry cackling of flames. Charmander and Bagon were lying down next to him, already sleeping. Little puffs of smoke came out of Charmander's mouth as he slept, curling up into the air and dissipating into nothing. Bored but not yet tired, Ash checked the time and saw that it was only eight, so he decided to do some research on the Pokedex.

In reality, Ash ended up reading trivia about random Pokemon, completely wasting time just for the sake of wasting time.

The darkness enveloped him when the flames went out. Strangely, even in his drowsiness, he could sense things in the night. Ash knew where the trees were, and that there were various pokemon watching him in the cover of shadows, shadows that Ash could see right through. Was it a lingering effect from Giratina?

"_Trouble."_

Ash jolted awake, sitting upright. His pokemon remained asleep, not hearing the dry, raspy sound that spoke into Ash's mind.

It was strange. The voice didn't come from his ears; it came from his mind. He immediately stood up, recalling Bagon and Charmander into their pokeballs. There was danger around.

"Haunter," Ash whispered, hoping his pokemon could hear him in the silence of the night, "come here."

"_I'm already here."_

Ash flipped out, almost fainting and falling into Misty's tent when Haunter suddenly appeared right in front of him. The pokemon giggled quietly, watching her trainer's reaction.

"_You're surprised." _Haunter stared at him, devious eyes unblinking.

"Well of course I am," Ash hissed, still not over his shock. "My pokemon is _talking _to me. Am I going insane?"

"_No time. Must come if you want to save her."_

Haunter's voice was raspy, like an old woman's, and sounded distant and echoing in his head but still managed to pull off a teasing tone. The connections between their minds were strained as Haunter somehow managed to telepathically channel her thoughts into his head.

Ash deadpanned. "Save who?"

"_Too many questions. Come."_

Haunter took off, flying effortlessly between trees. Ash ran after her, dodging the trees and underbrush without much difficulty. Being able to sense their presence in the darkness helped a lot with the effort.

After a few minutes of running in silence, Ash started hearing voices. They sounded like a boy's and a girl's, words indistinct as he neared their location. Suddenly, the trees disappeared, the woods divulging into a clearing of some sort. They were further on Route 11, the unmistakable nightlights of Vermillion already in sight, far off in the distance. Route 11 was, after all, one of the shortest Routes in all of Kanto.

"_Stay in the shadows."_

Ash shivered at the sound of Haunter's voice, which was still creepy to listen to. Psychics took years of experience to be able to communicate with their pokemon, so why was he suddenly able to talk to Haunter?

"What's going on?" Ash whispered, spotting a fire in the distance. He followed Haunter silently as they stalked towards the flames, which was soon revealed to be a small campfire. There were four people around the fire; three men all dressed the same, in a dark uniform that brandished a scarlet "R" on the back and front. A lone girl was sprawled on the ground, too far to see her facial features but close enough to see a large bruise forming on her cheek.

Anger flared up in Ash's body, his natural hero complex clicking into action. He unclipped his two pokeballs and was about to throw out Charmander and Bagon to destroy the three uniformed people when Haunter suddenly spoke, her haunted voice enough to stop Ash dead in his tracks.

"_Don't. See what's going on."_

"Who are they?" Ash's voice was heard by one of the people, who looked around in confusion before refocusing on the girl.

"_Silence. You will learn soon."_

The trainer and his pokemon neared the group of four, taking each step with deliberate care. Ash was holding back everything that he believed in to not wildly charge at the three assailants, a sick feeling forming in his pit when his mind went over what the three were planning on doing. Finally, Ash could distinguish words in their conversation.

" – get away from my pokemon, you sick _perverts_," the girl snarled, her voice dry and cracked. She angrily wiped tears from her eyes, standing up and reaching for a pokeball, noticing that there weren't any by her side.

"Looking for these?" one of the men teased, holding up a belt with six pokeballs attached to them. "I'm sorry, honey, but these pokemon are going to a good cause."

"A good cause?" the trainer spat incredulously, brushing back her dark hair. "All you monsters do is steal and sell pokemon or do experiments on them!"

"Steal pokemon for profit," a man recited, tapping the pokeball at his belt, "exploit pokemon for profit. All pokemon exist for the glory of Team Rocket."

Veins were bulging in the side of Ash's neck. Haunter warned his trainer to remain calm and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.

The girl spat on the ground. "See that? That's what I think of your pathetic organization."

The Team Rocket grunts laughed loudly, not caring if anyone heard them. "This one's feisty. I like her." He sauntered towards her, winking suggestively. "What say you guys?"

The other two villains laughed and advanced towards the girl as well, who was slowly backing away into the darkness and towards Ash. When the first Rocket got too close to her, the girl swung her right fist wildly at him, which was easily avoided. The man caught her wrist, throwing a quick punch to her gut and sweeping her legs off of the ground, causing her to land on the ground with a cry of pain.

"_Don't."_

Ash's hand twitched. His pokeballs were primed and ready to throw at a moment's notice. He screamed at Haunter in his head, knowing that they were too close to the grunts to say anything out loud and not be discovered.

"_I understand. I wish to help."_

Ash was _so _close to snapping. The grunt straddled the girl on the ground, holding her down by grabbing her throat with his gloved hand and covering her mouth with the other. The other two held down her flailing limbs.

"Relax, darling. Let Team Rocket blast off…" his hand crept down to her shorts as tears formed in the girl's opaque eyes. The grunt grinned a perverted smile as his hand slid further south –

Something within Ash snapped. "Haunter, Sucker Punch!"

An invisible force knocked the grunt off of the girl's body, a strangely satisfying _crack _alerting Ash of the success of the attack. Instantly, Bagon and Charmander were out, initially confused but ready to battle nonetheless. After a quick conversation with Haunter, the two pokemon growled menacingly, understanding the gravity of the situation.

This wasn't a friendly battle.

The two grunts quickly ran away from the girl as Ash appeared from the shadows, the figure of a small boy causing the two to lurch in fear. Although Ash did not know it, he perfectly resembled a demon from the ghost world; he appeared out of nowhere, radiating shadows darker than the ones surrounding them and his eyes, filled with obvious anger, glowed a demonic red, promising nothing but pain.

He stood in between the grunts and the girl as he noted that the Rocket that had received Haunter's Sucker Punch was knocked out. Humans weren't built to take straight up blows from another pokemon. Their bones were much more fragile than the tough material that made up a pokemon.

Flashes alerted Ash of the other two villains releasing their pokemon, nothing particularly spectacular. There was an Arbok, an Ekans, a Zubat, a Golbat, and a Machop. They let out viscous growls, but were quickly outclassed when Bagon and Charmander returned with their own roars as Haunter laughed sinisterly, a far cry from her playful giggle.

If possible, this was the first time Haunter looked serious.

"Return her pokeballs," Ash demanded, his voice steely calm. Underneath his cool exterior, Ash was raging, imagining what it would be like if he ordered his pokemon to kill. Shuddering, Ash dismissed that thought from his head. No matter how mad he was, he wouldn't force his pokemon to become murderers.

After a quick silence, the grunts pulled their act together. "Or what," a grunt sneered, holding up the girl's pokeballs. They dangled from her belt, clinking together.

"Or you'll never see the light of day again," the boy threatened.

The two criminals looked at each other and then laughed, although the laughter sounded forced. "What are you going to do, but us in jail?"

"No," Ash responded easily, anger licking at his thoughts, "I'm going to _kill _you."

The two thieves flinched, and that was all the time Ash needed. "Let's see how much we've improved. Bagon and Charmander, use Hone Claws. Haunter, Night Shade on the Golbat. Don't hold anything back."

The two bipedal pokemons' arms glinted as Haunter shot a stream of darkness at the grunt's Golbat. Taken completely by surprise, the Golbat had no chance of avoiding the fast attack and was struck by the full power of the blow, a small explosion marking the place where the Golbat once was. The bat pokemon fell uselessly to the ground, knocked out in one hit, its fur burned black from the heat of the attack.

Ash heard the two grunts give orders to their pokemon. When Ekans and Arbok charged Charmander, Bagon intercepted the two with Rock Tomb as Charmander let rip a plume of flame towards the Zubat, who was flying towards Haunter. In order to dodge the attack, the Zubat dove out of the way, breaking its flight pattern towards Haunter, who had already shot off another unavoidable Night Shade at the Machop.

Although Machop weren't weak to ghost type attacks, the fighting type was thrown off its feet at the powerful blast. Ash watched with slight terror as Haunter easily put the weakened pokemon to sleep and ate its dreams, causing the Machop to writhe in pain and agony until it suddenly stopped moving. Murky blood started flowing from the Machop's nose and ears.

Meanwhile, Bagon was firing Flamethrower after Flamethrower at the grunt's Zubat as Charmander took on Ekans and Arbok, slashing at both of them with Dragon Claw and keeping their poisonous Sludge Bombs away by using Ember to distract them and rolling away. The two grunts stayed a safe distance away from Ash, watching the battle with solemn eyes.

Sharp teeth dug into Ash's neck, tearing at the flesh before flying off. The trainer grunted in pain and surprise, wondering how the Zubat had gotten so close to him without Ash noticing. Bagon roared in rage, and when the Zubat swooped back for another attack, Bagon leapt into the air and grabbed the flailing bat's purple body and slammed it into the ground, pining it down with both hands as she blasted Flamethrower straight into the bat's body, causing the Zubat such immense pain that it screamed as it was slowly cooked by the heat of the attack.

After a few horrific seconds, Bagon stopped the relentless assault, bestowing mercy upon her charred victim. She tossed the burnt body of the pokemon aside like it was nothing, only the small rising and falling of its chest indicating that it was still _barely _alive. With a small growl, Bagon returned the fight, where Charmander and Haunter were squaring off against the Rockets' Ekans and Arbok.

"Target the trainer!" one of the Rocket grunts cried desperately, and their pokemon obeyed, trying to hit Ash with globs of poisonous sludge.

Ash, surprised by the sudden turn of events, was helpless as he watched the projectiles sail towards him, threatening to end his career in a second. The trainer was surprised when his haunter took both hits for him; the ghost's poison typing neutralizing the effectiveness of the attack. He had never expected the grunts to fight dirty like that.

Charmander and Bagon both roared in anger when the two poison types targeted their trainer. Bagon torched the Ekans with a Dragon Breath as Charmander sprinted towards a tired Arbok, taking a Sludge Bomb directly to the chest without slowing down and grasped the snake before it could slither away. With a slight twinge of pride, Ash watched as Charmander brought down a powerful Dragon Claw straight into the Arbok's face, drawing deep gashes and spurting up some acidic blood that burned anything it landed on.

Undeterred by the blood, Charmander's mouth lit up with flames as he bit down hard into the Arbok's hood, causing the snake to cry out in pain. Charmander took the opportunity to stick his hand down the snake's open mouth and used Dragon Claw to tear his hand back out, resulting in a terrifying spray of blood and blood-curling cry of pain. Ash flinched, never seeing the affectionate yet prideful pokemon preform such a brutal attack.

Ekans hissed and dove at Charmander, only to be intercepted by Bagon's Iron Head, an attack so powerful that it was thrown back a few feet only to be blasted by another Dragon Breath. Before Bagon could do any more damage to the pokemon, all of the Rockets' pokemon were sucked back into their pokeballs.

The girl's pokeballs were thrown at Ash's feet. "Fine, you win this time. But you've made an enemy out of Team Rocket."

The two grunts were about to take off, but Ash's voice stopped them. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Away," the grunts answered him. "You've won. We're leaving. It's how the system works."

"And I'm supposed to let you guys get away," Ash stated sardonically, laughing a humorless laugh. "Haunter, Hypnosis."

Before they could protest, the two were knocked unconscious. Haunter chortled, a darker sound than her giggle. Ash dragged the bodies to a tree and tied them securely around the tree with some rope from his backpack, deciding to leave the pokeballs a safe ten feet away from the criminals. Wondering what to do next, he phoned the police department on his Pokegear, telling the Officer Jenny that there were some criminals tied to a tree along Route 11. Ash's pokemon wandered around idly, Charmander licking at his wounds and Haunter, for the first time since he met her, laid lazily on the ground, resting next to Bagon, who was watching the girl with beady eyes just in case she made a move.

The girl Ash had saved finished packing up her sleeping matt and retied her belt around her waist, tapping each pokeball on the belt to make sure that they were still there. Now, that the moon had risen, Ash could see her features; she was taller than him by a lot, with long legs covered by worn out short shorts kind of like the ones Misty wore, and her torso was covered by a short black vest and a white t-shirt underneath. Her body was in the shape of an hourglass that would drive any man crazy, but Ash was just a boy.

Ash shook off those thoughts with ease, never really having the hormones to go crazy at the sight of a pretty girl. She never spoke a single word to him, not even a word of thanks, and tried to take off when she thought he wasn't paying attention.

"Hey!" Ash called, walking towards the girl as she tried to escape in the direction of Vermillion City. When she didn't stop, Ash grabbed her shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?"

She whirled on him, a litany of emotions written in her face, anger, shame, embarrassment, swirling around like a maelstrom. "Anywhere but here."

Wow. She was pretty, even when her face was scrunched up with anger. There were tears in her eyes, streaming down her face as she tried to blink them away, and her voice was melodic but hoarse with all the crying she had done.

"I don't want you traveling Route 11 alone," Ash admitted, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. His pokemon watched the conversation with amusement, and Ash had a slight feeling Haunter was going to give him hell for this later. "At night," he amended.

She snorted derisively, but Ash saw right past her façade. It was the exact same as Misty's – a tough girl act that concealed a scared girl on the inside. Granted, Ash had only seen Misty's vulnerable side a few times, like the Rock Tunnel incident, but he could easily compare the two together.

"What makes you think I need protection?" the girl tried sneering, but her voice wavered. "These pokeballs hold some of the most powerful pokemon in the world. Those _bastards _just caught me by surprise." When Ash raised a skeptical eyebrow, she exploded in half-rage and half-sorrow, a strange combination. She looked like she was about to strangle him and sob shamelessly at the same time. "Go back to where you came from, _kid._"

"You're hurt," Ash observed, ignoring the jab at his age.

The girl scoffed at him. "No, I'm not – "

"I have some medicine for humans back at my camp," the trainer continued, shrugging. "I'm just trying to help."

"How do I know you're not just going to drug me and… and _do things _to me?" she accused, taking a step away from him. Her eyes were laden with distrust, and Ash was beginning to feel ticked off.

"Look, I'm ten. I don't even know if I'm physically _capable _of doing stuff like that, and plus," Ash snapped, "I'm traveling with another girl. If you want, you can sleep in her tent."

The girl stared down at her feet after learning the new information, feeling ashamed. "I'm sorry."

Ash sighed, retrieving his pokemon. He was going to have to give them potions and Charmander an antidote just in case the Arbok's Sludge Bomb poisoned him. "Follow me. If you run off, I don't really care by now."

With a resigned air of defeat, the girl followed him as he led her back towards the camp. In the darkness of the forest, where the moonlight barely shone through the dense foliage, Ash could sense where everything was, including the camp half a mile away. After ten minutes of tense silence and the girl accidentally smashing straight into a tree, the duo arrived at Ash and Misty's camp, where their noisy arrival stirred something awake in Misty's tent.

"It's freaking _ten o'clock_, Ash! If you can't go to sleep, go throw yourself off a cliff or something!"

"Misty," Ash called, tone serious, "come out. I need to tell you something."

A long string of curse words later, the groggy ex-Gym Leader emerged from her tent, about to chew Ash out when she suddenly noticed the girl standing timidly next to him. Misty threw an accusing glare at Ash, an undetectable motion swirling in her eyes.

"Ash," she deadpanned, giving him a serious look, "what did you do to her?" Misty eyed the bruise on the girl's cheek, almost ready to snap the boy's neck.

Ash let out a strangled sound, wanting to punch a tree. His frustration at the lack of gratitude from the girl and Misty's false accusation caused him to explode, breaking the calm exterior he had been projecting the entire fight with Team Rocket.

"I found her while she was being attacked by some Team Rocket grunts, alright?" He stole a look at the girl, who was still staring hard at the ground. "I defeated them, knocked them out, and tied them to a tree. Now get off my case. I'm the good guy here."

Misty looked at the girl, who nodded in confirmation. She looked like she wanted to get everything over with and go to sleep.

"What's your name?" Misty asked, still heavily scrutinizing the girl. Ash was sure that Misty noticed the tear tracks and puffy eyes, but she said nothing about it. Misty always had tact when it came to these things.

"Hilda White," she muttered, her voice still hoarse. "But call me White."

The name clicked in Ash's head, gears turning until he finally realized why the girl's name was so familiar. Hilda White was a girl from Unova who went further than any ten year old did in the Indigo Conference, making it to the finals only to be defeated several years ago. The look on Misty's face told Ash that she recognized the name as well.

But White was so confident, so strong. She was only ten back then, but she took the world by storm, quickly becoming a famous name in households across every region due to her youth and aptitude at battling. The girl that stood next to him was just a hollow shell of the famous finalist, but then again, what those Rocket grunts did…

Next time Ash met Team Rocket, there would be no mercy. For Arceus's sake, White was only _thirteen _at most!

"White," Ash said, testing the name on his tongue. "Wow, and they say that you'd never meet your heroes." She wasn't lying about her pokeballs holding some of the most powerful pokemon in the world.

White said nothing, still staring at her feet. At Ash's comment, fresh waves of tears streamed down her face only to be quickly wiped away. "Um, Mist, can you get the medkit?"

When Misty returned a few moments later, Ash applied some lotion to the bruise on White's face, gently soothing the moisture into her skin. Then, he asked her if she had any other cuts or bruises, to which White answered by pulling up her shirt, showing a large bruise on her stomach.

Ash gulped and looked away, handing the lotion to Misty. The water trainer got the message, applying the solution for him and handed the container back to him. Already the medicine was working its magic, slowly turning the bruise on her cheek from purple to a yellow shade. After a tense silence, Ash decided to let his pokemon out, healing them with potions and giving an antidote to Charmander. He didn't seem poisoned, but Ash didn't want to take any chances.

"Sleep?" Ash asked, and the two girls nodded. "White, you can bunk with Misty if you'd like."

"No need," she replied. "I'll sleep outside."

The trio split up, each getting ready for bed. White laid down her matt somewhere on the other side of the campsite, and Misty retreated to her tent, falling asleep almost instantly. Her talent for falling asleep easily was enviable, since Ash tossed and turned in his sleeping bag, unable to fall asleep after the events.

He felt a strange presence in his mind, so Ash reached for it, satisfied when a throaty voice answered him. _"Don't worry. I keep watch. Us ghosts don't need sleep."_

"Thanks," Ash whispered, not sure if the ghost could hear him. A girly giggle answered him.

"_You should be more worried about the girl crawling towards you."_

"What?"

"Hi," a small voice breathed. Somebody plopped a sleeping matt right next to his, lying down on top of it, uncomfortably close to Ash. "I hope you don't mind."

"White?" Ash hissed, more surprised than anything. "What are you doing?"

He was greeted by silence.

"White?"

"I-I don't want to sleep alone," the girl stuttered, and Ash flipped around to stare at her. She was close. _Too close_. He scooted away respectfully. "Not after…"

"I understand," Ash mumbled, his cheeks lightly heating up, "but why not sleep in Misty's tent?"

White was silent again, staring at him with uncomfortably large, blue, and teary eyes. She had freckles on her face, sprinkled here and there. "Just… _please_?"

Ash nodded, still looking at her. Her hair was pulled into a messy, voluminous ponytail that showed off her long, angelic neck. _A completely platonic observation,_ Ash reassured himself. "Sure."

She threw herself at him, crushing him in a massive hug. When her grip didn't loosen, Ash sighed and made himself comfortable. "Thank you _so much_," she whispered, her breath tickling his neck. White's head was right in the small crook of his neck, and he felt his shirt getting wet.

"For what?" Ash stupidly asked, unable to take back the words once they were out of his mouth.

"For saving me," she breathed simply, arms tightening around him. If her grip were any tighter, Ash's heart would've been crushed by his ribs. "I… don't want to think about what… could've happened…"

Her hoarse voice trailed off, replaced by sobs. Ash, not really knowing what to do, rubbed her back soothingly. "Don't worry, I promise that I'll protect you."

Sleep overtook him with its a calming touch.

**– Ω –**

The next day was unpleasant.

White was back on her feet instantly – pushing Ash off of her body when she woke up – and there was no resemblance to the scared and vulnerable girl Ash had found in the dead of night. Her tone, while slightly hoarse, turned sharp and scathing as she tried overcompensating for her weakness.

Misty went fishing early in the morning, hoping to catch another powerful water type, perhaps a Horsea or a Krabby, leaving Ash alone with White.

She left to take a quick bath in a creek she saw, and after hearing that Ash wanted to become a pokemon master (stupid, _stupid _Misty, always trying to embarrass him), the Johto trainer offered to train with him later. So that left Ash alone, with his Pokedex, trying to dig up as much information as he could about White.

Something about the female trainer intrigued him. Maybe it was the fact that she almost won the Indigo Conference at the young age of ten; it certainly told Ash that age was not of an important matter when it came to pokemon training, _experience _was. It was inspiring, knowing that such a young person could make it so far and become so famous. Ash, ever since he was a toddler, had dreamed of having his name fill the headlines, of having the name _Ash _carry more shock and awe than even his own father's _Red_.

That's why he took to telling people that his name was purely Ash. The trainer didn't want to mooch off of his estranged father's fame like Gary did off of his grandfather, and he was pretty sure that his father wouldn't have wanted Ash to be like that.

One day, Ash vowed, one day when Ash had become the best pokemon trainer in the world, he would find his father and defeat him in battle. For as long as Red went undefeated, Ash's heart would never be content.

His thoughts starting to wander, Ash's mind soon came to the very uncomfortable memory of the Team Rocket grunts. They were three physically capable men, coming across a weak and defenseless girl… but instead of helping her, they tried taking advantage of her. The thought was disgusting to the core, Ash's strong moral compass absolutely detesting every single thing that the grunts did.

If that was what the Team Rocket grunts were like, then the Team Rocket leaders must be _so _much worse. Ash's own emotions were a little too complex for the ten year old to completely decipher, but it ran along the lines of wanting to tear down Team Rocket for what they did and _almost _did to White.

She's only _thirteen_.

Granted, all pokemon trainers were legally adults and allowed to do adult things, but generally… the more _unspeakable _things happened in the late teen years. There were stories of lovesick kids marrying the second they had gotten their trainer's license and they were doing fine, but the odds of that happening were one-in-a-million.

Even then, the mere _thought _of the grunts pinning White down and… touching her enraged Ash. If he hadn't been there, who _knows _what could've happened. Justice had to be served, if not by the police, then by his own hand. Ash wanted to not only protect Kanto from crime; he wanted to protect the _world._

That became his drive.

"Hey, snap out of it."

Ash glanced up, looking at White with large eyes, because _whatthehellshe'sgorgeous –_

The girl frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "Stop leering at me, you're _ten._"

Ash blushed deeply, shutting a mouth that he didn't know hung open. White looked completely transformed, her long, brown hair tied into a fashionable ponytail, bright, sparkling blue eyes brought out by long, dark eyelashes. The dirt and grime was all gone, replaced by almost _glowing _skin and a perfect, red pair of lips that was even able to make hormone–less Ash uncomfortable.

"What did I say?" she snapped, rolling her eyes. Her voice was back to normal, an unpleasant tone tinting an otherwise pleasant sound.

Slightly startled, Ash replied with a snippy, "Glad to see you're feeling better from last night."

White's eyes sparkled with rage as she shook out of anger or… something else? "Come on," the girl muttered, an annoyed tone seemingly seeping into her voice, "let's see what you've got."

Ash frowned as he followed the girl. Her rapid transformation from a sweet, scared girl to a rather snappy, uptight teenager was ticking him off, Ash nearly _praying _to see the other side of White again. It was almost like she was trying to keep him at a distance, which made no sense since she practically threw herself at him a literal few hours ago.

"Okay, let me see them. How many pokemon do you have?" she asked, turning around and stopping in a clearing.

Swallowing hard, Ash answered. "Three. I have a Bagon, a Charmander, and a Haunter."

"How long have you been on the road?"

"Ever since May, so two months." Ash raised an eyebrow at her rapid-fire questions.

"Two months and you've only caught three pokemon?" she scoffed. Anger flared up in Ash's system, oddly reminiscent of him and Misty's encounter at Viridian so long ago. "By this time, I already had my full team."

"Whatever," Ash waved off, eyes narrowing at the unreasonably hostile trainer. At the sign of his apparent anger, Ash would've liked to think that White's eyes seemed to soften a degree before hardening, but then again, that could've been a trick of the light.

Three flashes of light later, Bagon, Charmander, and Haunter appeared in the clearing, glancing around until recognizing White from the night before. Haunter even went so far as to give her trainer a knowing smirk, eyes darting towards White and winking. But luckily for him, the ghost remained silent, not trying to telepathically communicate with him.

"What…" her words faltered at the sight of Bagon, her magnificent golden color temporarily stopping the female trainer in her tracks. No matter how mean she was to Ash, White was a pokemon trainer first and foremost, and she couldn't help but admire the incredibly rare-looking pokemon. "Is that even a real pokemon?"

Bagon snorted indignantly, crying out in displeasure. "Yes she is," Ash affirmed defensively. It was one thing to insult him, but it was a wholeother thing to insult his pokemon. "I found her on Route 1 and she's been my starter ever since."

"Route 1, eh?" the girl had gotten over the shock, offering Ash a cocky smirk, which, Ash hated to admit, was very,_ very _distracting. "So you're on of those Pallet kids, yeah?"

"Yeah, so?" Ash's fists clenched.

"So why didn't you get a Charmander, or a Bulbasaur, or a Squirtle even? Or did the professor neglect you and sent you off on your journey with nothing but an empty pokeball? And knowing that he probably did, where did you even get that Charmander?"

Sensing the hostility behind her voice, Charmander breathed a warning plume of flame.

"So what if he _did _do that?" Ash exploded, the accidental reminder of Pallet Town and the start of his journey finally pushing him over the edge. "Why are you asking so many questions?"

"Why are you being such a baby about it? You're ten, you're old enough to face the facts. When I was your age, at least I was _mature _about it," she finished, crossing her arms defiantly. "Also, how did you get Rare Candy for your pokemon? Because they look as jacked up as they come."

His three pokemon snarled at the girl, and Ash withdrew them before they actually attacked White. Truth be told, they would have to beat Ash to her – he was itching to strangle her. Where was all of this wanton hatred and random insults coming from? What had he done to deserve such a thing?

"I just trained them hard," Ash growled, his voice strained with self-control. He was painfully aware of how his body temperature seemed to drop as his rage increased. He could seethe shadows curling off of his body like smoke, corresponding perfectly with his emotions. "They got that from hard work and dedication, _nothing else_."

"Mhm, sure…" her voice trailed off, smacking her alluring red lips together, "and Mew's my mother and I caught Arceus in a pokeball."

"Forget it!" Ash roared, all semblances of control gone. "Go train on your own!"

The trainer saw regret lance through her eyes, her body posture slouching slightly at his rage. But Ash didn't care. "I haven't done anything bad to you at all and yet, for the past thirty minutes, you've been nothing but taunts and insults. You're a complete phony – the newspapers say that you're all _sweet_, and _kind_, but call me blind because you are _nothing _like they say you are!"

That short rant cut her deeper than any of her scathing words could do to Ash. White visibly recoiled, taking a step back and bowing her head. Ash felt a little bad, but his temper outweighed his judgment.

"This entire thing was a huge joke!" There was no stopping Ash now; wrath clouded his senses and put him on overdrive. "Find me when you're done being a jerk."

Ash turned around and walked off, not bothering to take a glance back. He didn't want to waste his time squabbling with people that weren't worth his time when he could've been training his pokemon to become stronger. Good Arceus, was the teen _traveling _with them? Shaking his head and cursing, Ash stormed back towards his camp.

Ash paid no attention to anything else in the world. He was too angry to care, storming back to his sleeping mat as sleepiness overtook him. It had been a long night, and Ash didn't catch a lot of sleep – probably due to White never able to stay still while asleep.

It was a strange feeling having wrath and drowsiness mixed, but eventually, Ash fell asleep…

…

…

"_AAAAAAAASH!"_

"Mrhmgh – gah, Misty? What's going on?"

The trainer groggily stood up, noticing how the sun was already dipping towards the horizon, casting the world into beautiful shades of red and blue. A quick check on his Pokegear told Ash that it was almost dinnertime. He'd been asleep for a long time.

"Ash, have you been sleeping?" Misty asked, bobbing her head up and down. Her eyes sparkled in the dying light.

Groaning slightly, Ash stretched out his limbs. "No, I was synchronizing myself with the ground," he drawled sarcastically, cracking his back.

Apparently Misty was in an excellent mood because the sarcastic retort slid over her head, the water trainer not even bothering to start an argument. "Well, guess what happened?"

"You caught another Psyduck?" Ash joked, receiving a light glare from Misty.

"No," she pulled out a pokeball from her belt, "a _thousand _times better. I caught a Horsea!"

The trainer's jaw fell to the ground, completely awake by now. "A Horsea? Aren't they incredibly rare and endangered?"

Misty nodded enthusiastically, her eyes bright with excitement. "Yeah, I know! I found the little guy after three hours of absolutely nothing, and then I battled him and caught him. He put up a tough little battle, but I can tell that he's going to be a powerful Kingdra."

"Wow, all you need is an extremely expensive Dragon Scale, Mist," Ash teased. He got a playful punch as a response.

"Which you'll be providing with when your Bagon evolves into a Salamence, right?" she smirked, staring Ash dead in the eyes.

Ash gave a dry chuckle, enjoying Misty's presence. She was the opposite of White; although he and Misty fought almost all the time, they were just friendly squabbles and, truthfully, Ash found that he enjoyed their interactions. Misty managed to make him feel better, whilst White just infuriated him to no end – and for Arceus's sake, it had only been a day! The thought of her sent annoyance pulsing through his veins.

"So," she continued, sitting down on a tree stump, "how was your day? Did your pokemon learn a thousand new moves?"

Ash's countenance soured, taking a seat on his sleeping mat. "No, I didn't really train today. I took a huge nap… I guess I was really tired after last night."

"It was White, wasn't it?"

Dang it. Misty could never read Ash's facial expression that well; was his game slipping up? "How'd you know?"

"She told me," the girl revealed nonchalantly, her face straining to reveal no emotion, "'bout what happened earlier. She wants to say that she's sorry, but she either doesn't have the guts to do so or can't swallow her own pride."

Ash snorted, staring down at his feet. There was a brief lapse of conversation. "I don't understand girls."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Misty demanded, more teasing than angry. Ash had gotten better at reading Misty's thoughts and expressions, and although she was trying to sound angry, her small smile completely ruined the attempt.

"I mean," Ash paused, pondering how to continue, "I save her from some Rocket grunts, and all I get in return is the cold shoulder and a bunch of insults."

"Maybe she's trying to drive you away for a reason," Misty responded cryptically, tapping her chin in thought. "But I'm afraid that you're going to have to put up with it."

"Why?"

Misty grinned at him, but it lacked real humor. "She wants to travel with us." Something was wrong with her tone – it was one that Ash had never heard Misty use before. Maybe it was the fact that her eyes darkened, or that her lips seemed to frown.

"You don't seem too happy about it," Ash observed.

Misty gave him a wry smile, obviously faked. "I don't know. It's nice having more company, but I kind of liked it when it was just us, you know?"

"But if she really wants to come," the boy sighed, missing the souring of Misty's expression, "who are we to deny her?"

"You and your stupid hero's complex," Misty muttered darkly, folding her arms over her chest. "Given how perceptive you are, I'm surprised that you're so _oblivious._"

But Ash didn't hear the last part. He was too busy wondering why Misty's mood had suddenly seemed to flip upside down. Why would the water trainer's post-Horsea-capturing high suddenly crash into a brooding sourness?

"Hey guys, what are y'all talking about?"

The two trainers flinched, staring at their new traveling companion. White offered a wide, cheeky grin before sitting down on her mat, a little too close to Ash, who scooted away. A small smile formed on Misty's lips at the sight, completely overlooked by Ash.

"Nothing," Misty amended quickly, giving Ash a warning look, "we were just talking about how awesome it would be to have you with us!"

White smiled at Misty, her real smile shining through. Somehow, the two already seemed to be becoming fast friends, which intrigued and troubled Ash at the same time.

"Yeah, what she said," Ash grumbled, not exactly pleased.

White blinked him, frowning at his tone. "You don't sound so happy about it." An unrecognizable emotion flashed through her eyes; was it hate, regret, or, dare he say it, _rejection_?

Ash narrowed his eyes. Before he could respond, Misty hastily intervened. "Come on guys, let's eat dinner! Then we can go to sleep and head to Vermillion City tomorrow."

White got up before Ash did, pushing down on his shoulder to help herself up. She flashed him a coy smile before retreating, wrapped in a hoodie and offering to find some firewood. The trainer frowned, obviously annoyed, before heading off to do his own thing.

He was so _confused_.

* * *

**Whew. That took a long time to write. Hope you like Ash's minor new powers. They're not really going to be important, more of an aesthetic thing than anything. Since Ash was marked by Giratina (king of the ghost world), he can listen to ghosts, but can't talk back to them. Does that make sense?**

**I hope you guys really don't mind the addition of White's character. She's going to be around for a good amount of time. If you guys are confused on why she's suddenly being mean to Ash, either leave a review or PM me and I'll respond, albeit spoiling a few details. If you want the story to unfold, just leave the matter be.**

**White will probably be the only non-anime character added for now, but I may add more in the future. I would tell you whether or not the trio would stay together, but it'd be better if I kept you guys in the dark. Will they split up or will they stay together?**

**As a side note, the last segment of the chapter was written to be intentionally slightly confusing, since everything is from Ash's perspective. As put by Misty, Ash is perceptive but dense, so his observations don't really get him anywhere. The clues are all there, but can you put them together?**

**If you guys can figure out what White's and Misty's behavior means, then PM me. If you're right, you'll receive an awesome amount of satisfaction and a virtual cookie from me.**

**This is another long chapter, and that part with the Team Rocket grunts was especially hard to write – I was uncomfortable the whole time. But I already have a plotline and an agenda to carry out, so I had to do it.**

**I'd really appreciate some reviews, see how you guys like the story and the direction it's taking. And if you liked it, follow it. If you loved it, favorite it.**

**Have a nice day. Vermillion awaits.**


	5. Rival

**IMPORTANTE: I will include Unova and all of the region's pokemon. Instead of being from Johto, White is from Unova. This change is due to me playing Pokemon White during finals and then understanding the new pokemon more. I'll probably put in Kalos, too, in the future.**

**EXPLANATION FOR DISAPEARANCE: See A/N at the bottom of the page.**

**GUSH(E?): GUYS. WHAT. 700+ FAVORITES AND FOLLOWS!? **_**200+ **_**REVIEWS? **_**WHAT IS THIS? **_**I LOVE ALL OF YOU. I HAVE THE BEST READERS IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. YOU GUYS ARE THE MVPS. I NEVER IMAGINED ONCE THAT **_**THE WANDERER **_**WOULD GATHER THIS MANY FOLLOWERS AND FAVORITES. YOU CANNOT IMAGINE HOW HAPPY THIS HAS MADE ME FEEL. :D:D:D:D:D:D**

**NOW I WOULD CONTINUE ON WITH THE RANT, BUT I HAVEN'T UPDATED SINCE APRIL 23, 2014 AND I IMAGINE THAT YOU'D WANT TO READ THIS CHAPTER. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO…**

**Ages**

**Ash: 10**

**Gary: 10**

**Misty: 11**

**White: 13**

* * *

AU. Instead of receiving a Pikachu as his starter, Ash Ketchum is only given an empty pokeball and a sheepish grin from Professor Oak. Anger and spite clouding his soul, he sets out only to find a ray of hope in the form of a small, injured Bagon. It's funny how a tiny twist of fate can change one's destiny forever. Dark, smarter Ash – various shippings included.

* * *

The Wanderer

**Chapter IV**

Ash's trip to Vermillion was a little bit better than he had expected.

They made good time, reaching Vermillion in only a day. The seaside city was beautiful, with small homes and a few high rises. It gave off a sense of serenity and yet bustled with activity at the same time, being one of the major ports of the Kanto region and receiving many different shipments from different places around the world.

Along the way, Ash had battled a few trainers with Charmander and Haunter. Although Route 11 was short, there was an abundance of travelers, so his two newest pokemon got some good experience in, winning the majority of matches but loosing to a few more experienced, powerful trainers. During the battles, Ash had a good chance to see how much progress had truly been made.

Charmander had a lot of brute strength and firepower, but he didn't know how to control his own power. Whenever he used a move, the move would be quite powerful but also inaccurate, slow, and messy, something that Ash needed to rectify. But otherwise, Charmander was steadily becoming a better fighter, having the strength to be great but somewhat lacking the finesse. He also had the attitude of a battler, being aggressive and working hard when training.

Haunter, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. She had power and finesse, able to plow through pokemon without receiving a single hit, but the problem was that the ghost was just _lazy_. She would much rather be playing pranks than battling, usually showing off her powers before knocking out her opponent, occasionally disobeying Ash's orders and following her own agenda.

White didn't really talk to Ash a lot, instead choosing to give him the cold shoulder, but when she did, the girl wasn't exactly the nicest person on the planet. White fought with him just as much as Misty did, but Misty was much more playful and teasing than the harsh undertones of White's arguments. Her behavior still annoyed Ash, but the boy shrugged it off and decided to concentrate on what was important: his training.

The trio entered the city, Ash's nose taking in the curious blend between the salty sea breeze and the pollutants of the nearby factories and harbors. A magnificent ship rested at the end of a huge pier, with people of all different kinds flocking towards it. _St. Anne_, it was called. Ash dimly remembered a report he had heard back at home long ago about the construction of the ship; it must've been finished.

Home. His heart ached a little at the thought of his mother alone in their house in Pallet. Perhaps he was being too harsh and should give her a call –

"Hey, Ash," Misty called, interrupting him from his melancholic thoughts, "White and I are going to go shopping!" She smiled brilliantly, pearly whites showing.

"'kay," the boy grunted in response, already spotting the Pokemon Center, "I'll be at the Pokemon Center. You two have fun."

White stood in his way, a fake smile on her face. "But Ash," she drawled, "who's going to carry our bags?"

Realization struck him. They wanted him to carry their bags as they shopped. _Over my dead body, _Ash was tempted to respond with, but instead he settled for a meek "okay" after taking one look at the two girls' pleading faces. Arceus, his face was already turning red.

"Don't worry," the ex-Gym Leader laughed, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards a clothes store, "it won't be that bad!"

After hours of endless boredom while sitting outside of waiting rooms, Ash finally found himself at a store that was of some practical use – the only one that sold pokeballs and useful camping gear.

There were backpacks with huge storage compartments, one even boasting that a whole Gyarados could fit into its smallest storage system, an assortment of sleeping bags and mats, sharp tools for wilderness survival and defense, and finally a whole section of different types of pokeballs, so many that most of them seemed completely useless.

Ash wasn't overflowing with cash, but he had made a decent amount from battling all of the trainers along Route 11. He browsed the shelves, eyes widening at the price tags on the Ultra Balls and the Premier Balls. Yet he had to admit the price tags made sense; Ultra Balls were many times more effective at catching pokemon than the ordinary pokeball and they were for a high-level trainer attempting to capture powerful pokemon. The concept of Premier Balls was a little trickier; Ash wasn't quite sure how they worked. Apparently, they were much more spacious than a normal pokeball, so there was more room for a pokemon to move around while inside the Premier Ball. It was more of a luxury item for the rich's pokemon.

In the end, Ash bought five empty normal pokeballs. The trainer hadn't thought a lot about team building, but the boy knew that he needed some variety on his team. When he forked over the money to the cashier, a bored-looking teenager, she handed him a flyer with his change.

"Would you like to see some of our on-sale items?" she asked, gesturing lazily towards a few items stacked neatly on a nearby table. Something caught his eye – a decent-sized knife, the blade about six inches long.

"Is that on sale?" Ash asked, pointing at the item. A knife was possibly one of the most useful tools for any wandering trainer. It would be useful for cutting down branches for firewood instead of asking Bagon to smash it to pieces.

The girl gave him an _are you kidding me _look. "All items here are 75% off. Everything must go," she recited, rolling her eyes.

Ash used the rest of his money to pay, picking the knife up and testing its weight. It was a little bit heavy and off balanced, but it was seemingly high quality and a good deal for the money Ash had paid.

"Watch where you're pointing that thing," the cashier grumbled. She pulled something out of a cabinet and handed it to him – a weird looking sheath of some sort. "This comes for free. It straps around your calf."

"Thanks." Ash took the knife and slid it into the sheath before storing it in his backpack.

He hurried back outside the store, where Misty and White were talking animatedly. After an afternoon's worth of shopping, the two girls were in wonderful moods, smiling and laughing like kids. When they saw him approach, their conversation ceased and a slight hue of red crossed over Misty's cheeks. What were they talking about?

White looked away, checking her bag of clothes. Misty greeted him in her stead. "Took you long enough. What did ya buy?"

Ash shrugged, showing Misty his new purchases. "Five new pokeballs and a knife."

Misty blanched at the sight of the blade. "Arceus, Ash, why did you suddenly want to get a knife? Are you going to kill me in my sleep or something?"

"It was on sale," the trainer huffed defensively, stowing his gear back in his backpack. "And no, I'm not going to kill anyone. I just thought it might come in handy one day."

Misty shrugged indifferently. "Still, it's kind of creepy knowing that you'll be carrying around a knife."

The boy was about to rebut her argument when White stepped in suddenly. "It's a good idea to carry a knife while traveling; most people do. I had one with me in Unova."

"Do you still have it?" Misty looked nervous at the idea of two of her companions wielding blades.

White laughed mirthlessly. A dark look covered her face. "You don't want to know how I lost it."

There was a nervous silence as White's implication hung in the air, daring anyone to challenge it. "Okay," Ash began, scratching his neck. He couldn't tell if she was making a dark joke or being serious. "I'm hungry. Anyone want to get some food?"

"I'm down," Misty answered too quickly, jumping at the conversation change.

The trio went to a restaurant, devouring their first real meal in a while. The last time Ash had such a nice dinner like this was all the way back in Pewter City, so the boy took this as an excuse to eat everything in sight. White had the same mentality as he did, wolfing down her meal as Misty daintily chewed on her salad.

After darkness cascaded upon the town and Vermillion's nightlife took over, Ash finally arrived at the Pokemon Center. The three had rented out a single room, deciding that Ash was too young to act like a perverted boy and try anything stupid. Misty quickly claimed the couch, crashing with her enviable ability to fall asleep nearly at will, leaving Ash and White quietly arguing over the sleeping arrangements.

While Ash had offered to sleep on the floor, White was confusingly adamant in forcing him to sleep on the bed, claiming that it was barbaric to sleep on the ground when there was ample space on the bed and that if he refused, it would only make her detest him more than she already did.

Her statement was confusing, since Ash thought that White would want him as far away as possible.

So in the end, Ash had decided to comply with her demands, allowing her to get under the covers as he slept over them to ensure that there was no awkward skin-against-skin contact. Strangely enough, Ash felt self-conscious about his smell and took a shower, switching into some sleeping attire that the Pokemon Center had provided for them.

Tired and sleepy after the long day of battling and from the sheer boredom of shopping, Ash gratefully sank into the bed, a cool breeze reminding him of his lack of cover. White shifted her sleeping position when he plopped down onto the bed, and Ash yawned.

"Still awake?" he murmured, snuggling into the bed.

"Yeah," the response came, causing Ash to look at the girl. White looked lazily at him, her eyes half open with drowsiness. Her features were much nicer when they weren't scrunched up with hostility, Ash observed, and although she hadn't taken a shower, her face was still free of dirt or grime.

"Didn't I tell you not to _leer _at me?" White whispered.

Ash blinked. The tone wasn't laced with hostility or spite like the last time she had snapped at him, in fact, this time it was almost teasing. A wry smile danced across her face.

The boy shivered and looked away. "Sorry."

A nice silence descended upon them, interrupted only by the steady intervals of Misty's snores. Ash watched the shadows in front of him as they seemed to curl around his fingers, leaving ghostly sensations tingling across his bare skin. That wasn't good. Ash wasn't supposed to _feel _shadows.

"Misty told me about you," White muttered, drawing Ash's attention away from the shadows. He turned to face her. "Your father is Red?"

"Ash Ketchum," the boy sighed, not enjoying the topic of his estranged father. "Yup."

For a terrible second, Ash thought that the trainer was going to make a joke at his expense about his father, but the soft response that came instead surprised him. "That must be tough."

Ash gave her a wordless, confused stare as White elaborated. "I mean, it must be tough being the son of a champion, with all the expectations and the pressure to be great."

The boy nodded, understanding her point. "I guess that's why I introduce myself as just Ash to other people."

"Makes sense," White admitted, turning onto her back and staring up at the ceiling. "Were you two… close?"

Ash remembered memories, long-gone wisps of cherished moments flashing through his head. Sadness washed over him in gentle waves. "Yeah," he answered, hating how his voice shuddered, "he taught me a lot about pokemon."

"That's nice," the girl breathed. She seemed to be off in her own thoughts, so Ash didn't say anything. Another silence fell over them, but this time Ash felt awkward. Why was she asking all these questions? Mentally shrugging, Ash rolled onto his side away from White and attempted to sleep.

The solitary nightlight threw shadows around the room and they danced merrily, twirling around him and caressing his body. With a swipe of his finger, the shadows sunk away into their corners. A chill went through his spine as he did this; were they following his command or did they have a mind of its own?

"My family lived in Nuvema Town," White suddenly began. Her voice sounded just like how Ash felt: melancholic and homesick. "Professor Juniper gave me a Snivy as a starter when I got my trainer's license. I wanted to travel the world, but my mom was adamant in forcing me to stay in the small town while my dad encouraged me to follow my dreams."

Ash was quiet for a moment. "What happened next?"

"Well," the girl murmured, "my dad and my mom fought. They said that everything was fine, but I knew better. They got divorced. Apparently it was an ongoing fight, but – I don't know." She laughed bitterly, and Ash turned around to look at her.

"I'm sorry," Ash said, not sure how to handle the situation.

"Don't be," she scoffed. "It was their fault. Mom took my brother and moved to Sinnoh. My dad stayed with me for a while, but then he just disappeared."

"He just left?"

"Yeah, he did; without any warning, too. Professor Juniper offered me a place to stay, but I took that as my cue to start my adventure," White told him, spitting out the word adventure like poison.

After a brief respite in their conversation, Ash spoke up. "I know what it's like. It sucks."

White let out a short laugh. "You can say that again."

"Hey, you're not the only one with a bad start. I began my adventure without a starter." He flipped around to look at White, who stared at him with wide blue eyes. "Professor Oak gave me an empty pokeball. I guess it was my fault, since I woke up late."

"What pokemon did you want?" White wondered.

Ash smiled wistfully. "A Pikachu, since my dad had one. But I'm happy with Bagon – she's better than I could ever ask her to be."

He waited for a response, the pensive look on her face keeping the trainer quiet. "Did you set out with a goal?"

Taken back by the sudden question, Ash took a moment to respond. "Well, I was too angry at first to do anything but train. Ever since I was a little kid, I've always wanted to become a Pokemon Master."

As he expected, White laughed at his statement, but Ash trudged on. "Now though, I guess I have more concrete goals, like getting all of the gym badges in all of the regions. Right now, my biggest one is winning the Indigo Plateau Conference."

White rolled her eyes. "So ambitious, but ambition is a good thing. I just set out to become the best, but after a few years the dream slowly faded away when reality hit me. Progress slows until there is nothing left but hardcore training."

Ash frowned at the sobering words, and his excitement bubbled down. The girl continued, "Some trainers train for decades, hoping to win a league conference only to be defeated by a trainer who just seems to have a natural gift with pokemon. Your dad was a phenomenon because he didn't even bother winning the Indigo Conference, he went straight to the Elite Four and defeated them all when he was still a teen."

"I know the story," Ash attempted interjecting, but White could not be stopped.

"Have you ever seen him battle?" the Unovan trainer pressed, fire and passion resonating in her voice. "He doesn't talk. He _understands _his pokemon and they understand him, too. Beads of sweat would drip down his face while he did nothing but watch as his pokemon decimated everything in their path. I saw replays and watched them over and over again and I thought that I could one day match his level, but now I realize that I just don't have the natural talent."

"Of course you do," the boy responded almost immediately, not really filtering the words that came out of his mouth. "Don't think like that."

"But it's true," White pointed out. "Think about it. Pokemon are only a reflection of their trainer. They can only be great if their trainer can be. Red had a connection with his pokemon. It's something that ordinary people can't really replicate."

She let loose a small breath, and her eyes furrowed as if she were frustrated.

"I think you're not giving yourself enough credit," Ash told her. "You were really good in the final when you fought in the Indigo Conference a few years back. A rookie in her first year of training as the runner-up of the competition? That was amazing."

"Sure…" White relented, "but I didn't win, did I?"

When Ash opened his mouth to say something, White interrupted him. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Yeah, of course," Ash muttered, squirming slightly to get comfortable. A silence fell over them, and he was suddenly reminded of the Pokegear in his pocket.

A surge of feeling rushed over him – regret and nervousness amongst them. His earlier idea of calling his mom resounded in his mind. Earlier, near the start of his journey, Ash had blocked his mother's number. Maybe… maybe that was too harsh. Maybe he should –

"What's wrong?" White's voice dispelled his thoughts.

"Nothing," he lied, and it probably sounded as unconvincing to her as it did to him. "It's just… I don't know. I was really mad, and I did something rash."

She waited for him to elaborate on that thought, so he did. It was probably something about the late hour and the company that made him feel introspective. "The professor and my mom, they both thought that I wasn't ready, that I was too inexperienced. And I guess that they were right. I was going into the wild with just a pokeball. I was… _mad_. I think I still am. But I said and did some things for a long time after that were kind of immature, I guess."

"Don't sweat it," White picked up the second he stopped talking, "you're just ten, aren't you? Emotions are hard to control. They can make you lash out at people that you'd rather not. But you know what I think?"

He turned on his side to look at her. "What?"

"Prove them wrong," she said quietly, but there was a certain fire in her voice that sent shivers down Ash's spine. "You're still alive right now, aren't you? I mean, you're lugging around two dragons and a ghost but they listen to you. Show them that you _were _ready. That's what I did. I'm not much about leagues or anything, but I wanted to _prove _something. Find a powerful enough drive, and anything could happen, even…"

Her voice trailed off, and she stayed silent. Ash decided to not push her, and instead he moved onto another topic of conversation. "You should be like this more often."

White blinked, processing what he just said.

"I mean, it's more likeable," Ash struggled, trying to find words that wouldn't offend her. "On the road, or whenever there are any people, you're… not so nice"—Ash mentally chastised himself for putting it that bluntly—"and I don't like that. At all. But when you're like this, I really – "

Ash's eyes widened as he realized what he was just about to say, and he buried his face into the pillow. Though he couldn't see White, he heard her chuckle. "Yeah. Noted. G'night, Ash."

"Good night." The words came out muffled.

**– Ω –**

Vermillion City's gym was a large and impressive structure, with lightning bolts protruding like spikes from the building's edges. White and Misty had gone out somewhere, leaving Ash alone to challenge the gym.

Ash subconsciously tapped the three pokeballs hanging at his belt before sliding through the glass doors, mentally gasping at the huge amount of room the gym possessed. It was like a warehouse; giant, fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling in rows as the sounds of trainers and pokemon battling each other echoed off of the large walls.

Nobody paid him any attention as he walked silently towards a large crowd gathered around a battle. Squeezing his way to the front, Ash's efforts were rewarded when he spotted the tall, militaristic man battling another kid who looked a bit older than Ash.

It wasn't much of a battle, really. Lt. Surge's Raichu was sweeping the opponent's pokemon without any effort at all, using powerful electric attacks like Thunderbolt and Thunder Wave to decimate the poor challenger's pokemon. The crowd cringed and cheered as the electric-type showed off, blasting a Pidgeot straight out of the sky.

Not surprisingly, the battle was over soon. With a loud laugh and a hard clap on the shoulder, Lt. Surge told the kid to scram and come back when he was stronger if he really wanted to get the Thunder Badge. There didn't seem to be anything soft about the man; he was tough, loud, and blunt.

"Is there another challenger?" Surge cheered, cracking his knuckles. "Because Raichu is ready to fry another kid's dreams!"

Nobody stepped out. The Raichu stared straight at Ash with a smug grin, as if it knew what Ash was thinking at the moment. Lt. Surge noticed what his pokemon was looking at and stared straight at Ash before laughing and picking him up with one arm. Without any effort at all, Surge dropped Ash off at the challenger's box on the battlefield.

"Raichu smells a challenger!" Surge boomed, making the crowd laugh heartily. Ash, while not liking being thrown about like a rag doll, admired the way that the crowd seemed to love every word that came out of the man's mouth. "What is your name?"

"Ash, from Pallet Town," the boy responded easily, feeling the eyes of the entire crowd on him, beginning to sweat under the intense scrutiny. The Gym Leader stared at him blankly for a second, eyes clicking with realization. _He knew_, Ash realized with horror. Surge knew who he really was.

"Another Pallet Town newbie!" the man roared, a smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes. He was cautious, the trainer realized. "Get ready to be fried!"

The pun was horrendous, but the entire crowd laughed and enjoyed it nevertheless. To Ash's surprised, the lieutenant withdrew Raichu and sent out a ball-shaped pokemon with red top and a white bottom.

"A Voltorb," Ash muttered to himself, priming a pokeball. He tossed it a few feet in front of him, and with a bright flash, Charmander appeared, snorting flames and yawning. He took a few seconds to figure out where he was at, noticing the plain League-approved field.

"Ladies first," the older man taunted, earning a chorus of laughs from the group of people watching them.

"Hit him where it hurts," Ash called, face burning up with embarrassment, "Ember."

Charmander shot out a small plume of flame towards Voltorb, who didn't have enough time to dodge. The attack hit the pokemon straight in the face, if it were to have one. Since Charmander had become much stronger, Ember no longer required a build up to use and so he could use the move much quicker and easier than before. Flamethrower, on the other hand, took a lengthy build up to use.

"Sonic Boom!" Surge roared. His pokemon complied and let out a horrendously loud screech, making Ash clutch his ears in pain. Charmander winced at the loud sound and stumbled a little bit, a weakness that the Gym Leader capitalized on. "Tackle!"

The ball pokemon rolled forward with surprising speed towards Charmander, who was still clutching his head in pain. "Dragon Claw!" Ash yelled, attempting to get Charmander to hear him. The lizard pokemon didn't hear him and was struck by the rolling sphere, tumbling backwards a little bit.

Snarling with annoyance, Charmander blasted an angry plume of flame towards the electric type pokemon. Voltorb avoided the attack and rolled away, using its spherical form to easily navigate the field.

"Tackle," both trainers commanded at the same time. Ash spared a look at the Gym Leader, keeping an eye on the two pokemon charging towards each other. Surge had a weird expression on his face, staring down the younger trainer with scrutinizing eyes.

"Jump," Ash barked, watching as the two pokemon neared collision. Charmander followed his order and jumped over Voltorb, landing behind the ball pokemon. "Fire Fang!"

Surge kept his cool as Charmander sprang towards his pokemon, fire erupting from the lizard pokemon's mouth. With a lackadaisical grin, the Gym Leader muttered, "Sonic Boom."

Ash's hands instinctively went up to his ears, gritting his teeth when he saw Charmander take the full blast of Voltorb's furious screech. The resilient little pokemon showed no sign of pain and clamped his flame-covered fangs right into Voltorb's skin. Without another command, Charmander's orange stomach glowed red, signifying the use of some fire attack as flames enveloped Voltorb's body. With a strange scream, the ball pokemon instinctively sent a flood of electricity straight into Charmander's body. The force of the attack sent the small lizard sprawling, but it was too late. The damage was done.

Voltorb was returned to Surge's pokeball, covered in nasty burn wounds and a large gash where Charmander's teeth were when he used Fire Fang. Charmander rose on wobbling legs, sparks of electricity still arcing through his body. He tried to move, but an arc of electricity shot out of his body and held him in place. The pokemon let loose a spout of flame in annoyance, attempting to move but failing due to Voltorb's final paralyzing blow.

"Charmander, return. You did a good job." Ash offered a smile at his pokemon before returning Charmander, clipping his pokeball back to his belt. He tapped thoughtfully at his remaining pokemons, Haunter and Bagon, thinking about which one he should use.

In the end, Ash decided that Haunter needed some training. Although she was strong, she didn't have as much experience in battling in an official match.

With a flash, the ghost was released. It really didn't surprise Ash when Haunter giggled, did a few flips in the air, and turned around to face Ash just to give the trainer a snarky grin. He was a little bit accustomed to the ghost's antics, but Haunter's airy giggle still sent shivers down his back.

"Ooh, a ghost!" Surge grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Haven't seen many young trainers with the balls to handle a ghost. Let's take him on, Pikachu!"

Ash ground his teeth together when he saw Surge's next pokemon. An oversized Pikachu stared at him, cocking its head slightly with a bemused expression. Although small, Pikachus were definitely _not _a pokemon to underestimate. Pikachu was a pokemon that proved that appearance or size didn't matter when it came to battling.

"Thundershock!" Surge started, pointing towards Haunter in an exaggerated, comical manner. The crowd laughed at the gesture and Ash allowed himself a small grin.

Pikachu gave its famous cry and let loose a wave of electricity. Before Ash could say anything, Haunter dissipated and the attack passed right through her. She cackled and zoomed right at Pikachu, bringing her fist backwards for a Sucker Punch. What happened next was unexpected.

Pikachu used Quick Attack and sprinted straight through Haunter, completely dodging the attack. The normal type move had no effect on Haunter's ghost typing, but it helped Pikachu completely avoid Haunter's Sucker Punch. Haunter's fist collided with nothing, and, with a snarl, the ghost fired a thick tendril of darkness straight towards the pokemon too quick for the eye to really see. It caught Pikachu off guard, but the pokemon's small size and reflexes allowed it to turn to the side and redirect most of the blow.

"Thunderbolt!" Surge yelled. "Let's zap this punk!"

"Power through it with Night Shade," Ash told the ghost, wondering what to do next. Pikachu was obviously too fast to try to hit with a physical attack, but there was one strategy that just might work…

The two attacks met in the center of the field, neither attack more powerful than the other. A small explosion of energy burst forth from the two attacks colliding, sending dust flying in all directions.

"Haunter," Ash yelled over the cheering crowd, "Sucker Punch."

A small giggle told Ash that somehow the ghost had heard his instructions. When the dust cleared, Ash saw Haunter sail towards Pikachu, her hand glowing with otherworldly power. The Pikachu tensed, ready to use Quick Attack to fly straight through Haunter.

Ash held his breath. "You know what's coming, Haunter. Grab it and use Hypnosis!"

Before Surge can give any other sort of command, Pikachu had already sprung towards Haunter. This time, however, Haunter snatched the little mouse straight out of the air and pinned it to the ground, her eyes locking with the electric pokemon's. There wasn't any signal that a move was being used, but the two pokemon weren't moving, a mental battle surging between the two pokemon.

Pikachu lost and gave in to the darkness, yawning and closing its eyes. Haunter seamlessly began eating the pokemon's dreams, an odd psychic connection forming between the two pokemon. It was still a little bit hard to watch as the Pikachu squirmed on the ground, shuddering and grasping at nothingness. The color was slowly draining from the mouse's face, turning into a pale shade of yellow as its dreams were slowly consumed and turned into nightmares.

With a growl, Surge returned Pikachu, a hard expression on his face. No trainer liked to watch the life slowly get sucked out of their helpless pokemon.

"It's not often that I'm backed into a corner like this," Surge admitted, a dangerous smile on his face. "Raichu! Show 'em what true power is!"

Ash wasn't sure if that was an intentional pun or not, but the crowd laughed and cheered all the same. He felt his heart beat a little faster at the thought of all the people watching him, analyzing him, scrutinizing his every move. Steeling his nerves, Ash shook off most of the uneasiness. Haunter could battle for a little bit more, but using Hypnosis in particular really drained the ghost.

With a flash of light, Lt. Surge's Raichu appeared, a hulking beast of a pokemon. Typical Raichu were two and a half feet tall, but this one was easily over three feet tall. Its ears stood straight up, indicating that the Raichu currently possessed a dangerous amount of electricity. Its tail hit the ground, discharging electricity and leaving scorch marks behind.

"Be careful, Haunter," Ash warned, thinking of ways to take down Surge's pokemon. "Don't get too close."

Vermillion's Gym Leader didn't waste any time. "Thunder!"

There was a pause. Then, a massive crack of thunder nearly tore open Ash's eardrums, bolts of lightning streaming out of the pokemon's body. The flash was too bright for Ash to see anything – all he saw was whiteness and a constant ringing sound in his ears gave him no clue on Haunter's condition. Even though she was a ghost, that massive thunderbolt would've fried anything in its path.

His vision slowly cleared. With unbelieving eyes, Ash gazed upon Haunter's unconscious body. His jaw slightly hung open as Ash comprehended what just happened: Raichu had just one-hit KO'd his Haunter.

Ash returned Haunter to her pokeball, still in a daze as he clipped the pokeball to his belt. The trainer knew that Haunter's defense was pretty low, but that attack from Raichu was just insanely overpowered. He wondered whether or not Surge's Raichu had badly injured any pokemon before.

Gritting his teeth, Ash grabbed the brim of his hat and turned it backward, balling his hands into fists. Blood surged through his veins.

"Bagon, let's go," the trainer said, revealing his final pokemon. Bagon's shiny form appeared after a bright flash, earning whistles and cheers from the crowd. Some people stared at the rare pokemon, murmuring to themselves.

Something akin to anger bubbled in Ash's stomach. Raichu didn't have to go so overboard with its attack – Haunter could've really been hurt. Almost coincidentally, Bagon growled and pawed at the ground with her stubby arms, snorting in anger as if she could sense and sympathize with her trainer's emotions.

"Raichu," Surge called, a smile ensnaring his face, "Thunder!"

This time, Ash was prepared. "Flamethrower to deflect it, then get out of there."

Ash averted his eyes as Raichu unleashed its devastating attack. The flash of white wasn't as bad as it was last time, but it still forced Ash to shut his eyes. There was an explosion somewhere, causing the battlefield to rumble. The trainer opened his eyes and squinted to see what had happened.

There was a crater and a circle of flames around it. Apparently, Raichu's Thunder and Bagon's Flamethrower had collided in the middle and created an explosion, but Bagon had not come out unscathed; a few arcs of electricity sparked from the pokemon's body, showing that a portion of the attack had hit her.

Surge grunted, slightly annoyed. "Thunderpunch!"

Raichu took off towards Bagon, its fist cackling with electricity. It was then that Ash had realized Raichu's primary weakness; its lack of speed. The electric type lumbered around, moving awkwardly.

"Stop it with Rock Tomb," Ash told his pokemon, "then close the distance and use Dragon Claw."

The ground underneath Raichu cracked and large boulders rose up to intercept the electric type. Like the tank it was, Raichu took the hit and powered through the boulders, stumbling only a little bit when a rock hit its underbelly. Bagon used Raichu's little trip up to her advantage, sprinting forward at full speed and slashing at the pokemon's stomach with Dragon Claw. Surge's pokemon growled in annoyance and swung its fist with all of its might. Bagon ducked under Raichu's Thunderpunch and rolled away, putting distance between the two battlers.

"Don't give Raichu an opportunity to use Thunder," Ash warned, knowing that Raichu's ranged attacks were more powerful than Bagon's. "Iron Head."

Bagon sped off, rapidly closing in towards Raichu as Surge gave his own command: "Thunder! Fry that dragon!"

Raichu cackled with electricity, about to fire another overpowered bolt of lightning. Ash shut his eyes in preparation, but no overwhelming flash of light came. Instead, the trainer heard a large crash and opened his eyes to see Raichu sail through the air, landing on the ground with a hard thud. The pokemon's Iron Head had disrupted Raichu's Thunder and threw the electric type off of its feet.

The crowd cheered and applauded even when Ash didn't do anything particularly impressive – all he had done was tell Bagon to use Iron Head. Raichu didn't get up, a large bruise already forming on its stomach after taking a hit that could smash boulders to smithereens. With an interesting look in his eye, Surge withdrew Raichu and Ash followed suit, offering his dragon some praise before returning Bagon.

"Congratulations," the Gym Leader said while walking towards Ash, "you've won the Thunder Badge, fair-and-square." A small buzz of excitement grew in the pit of his stomach at the realization that he had just defeated Surge.

The huge man handed him Ash's third badge. The Thunder Badge was in the shape of a golden star with an orange octagon in the middle of it, a nice, golden shine glowing from the badge. The trainer pocketed the badge and looked back up at Vermillion's Gym Leader.

"I know who you are, _Ketchum_," Surge muttered under his breath just loud enough for Ash to hear, "and you should know that we're _always _watching."

A sinking feeling penetrated his thoughts as the Gym Leader clapped him on the back, loudly declared that he was going to need to rest his pokemon before accepting new challengers. With that, Surge strode through the crowd and disappeared through the Gym doors.

The crowd dispersed, leaving Ash alone on the battlefield except for a kid wearing a hoodie. The person clapped slowly, and although the hood managed to obscure most of the kid's features, Ash felt as though the kid was strangely familiar. Heavy with apprehension, Ash offered a meager, "Hello?"

The person chuckled, throwing his hood back. "Strange seeing you here, Ashy-boy."

Ash blanched, taking a step back in shock as he recognized his childhood best friend turned rival and tormenter. Memories washed over him like a roaring tsunami, crashing, tumbling, making the trainer clench his fist. Gary's face was still as indifferent as usual, only a twitch in his eye betraying his inner turmoil.

"Gary," Ash greeted, unsure of what to say.

The other trainer nodded, allowing a silence to thicken the already tense air in between them. They stared at each other, daring the other to step down.

"I'm better than you," Gary began suddenly. His voice was forced. "I got my own starter. You didn't."

Something akin to pure rage turned Ash's vision red, and he took a step towards the Oak. "Screw you, Gary."

The trainer laughed dangerously. "I didn't loose a single pokemon when I thrashed Surge. You barely won. Think about it. I've always been ahead of you in everything that we did."

The words really struck home, mainly because they were true. Ash grit his teeth, thinking of a comeback, but nothing came. There was one card against Gary that Ash possessed, but he wasn't going to bring it up. _Yet._

"Now you have nothin' to say, huh? What do they call us these days, Ash, Pallet's prodigies? But the thing is," he paused, sending Ash a predatory grin, "there's nothin' prodigal about you at all."

Ash opened his mouth to retort, but snapped it shut when he realized that he didn't have a plausible response to Gary's jab.

"I heard about Lavender Town," Gary continued with his monologue, "they called you a goddamned hero. But how can the _Ghost King _of Lavender be a hero when even the smallest thunderbolts use to make him scream?"

"Gary," Ash began, a warning tone in his voice, "don't go there."

His rival shook his head. "But I am, Ashy-boy. I'm diggin' into the past."

"You're an ass," the darker haired boy said simply.

Gary's hands closed into fists and he clenched his jaw. Six pokeballs dangled at his belt – a full team. Of course Gary would already have assembled six pokemon. White's words from before echoed in his head: _Two months and you've only caught three pokemon? By this time, I already had my full team._

The Oak took a step closer. "And you're a pussy. Scared of everyone and everything."

Ash's lips curled up into an admittedly malicious smile. "Didn't seem to matter to your grandfather. Or Daisy. Or _May_."

Okay, Ash had to admit that that was a low blow of savage proportions. But Gary had a knack for bringing out the worst, most vengeful and petty side of Ash, just like Ash could easily bring out Gary's arrogance and bullying tendencies without any effort at all. They made a poisonous combination.

Professor Oak, Ash knew, loved Gary as much as he could. He loved him as much as any grandfather would love his grandson. But Ash knew that, as a pokemon professor, the old man favored Ash more – which made it all the more grating that the professor didn't have a starter for him. Daisy, Gary's sibling, always thought he was a brat and instead babied Ash, treating him like a surrogate brother.

May… was a completely different story. _It doesn't matter, anyways,_ Ash thought, bitterly, _she left._

The look on Gary's face told Ash that he'd struck a cord. He knew Gary well enough to play him like a piano, but unfortunately the opposite of that was also true. "If Gramps actually did care about you, he would've saved you a starter," Gary shot back, but his face was turning red. "I, on the other hand, got the _best _Squirtle he had."

_Arceus_, that ticked Ash off. He was ready to slug the kid in the face. "Fight me," he said rashly, unclipping Bagon's pokeball and priming it.

"I was waitin' for that," Gary snarled, backing up and unclipping one of his own pokeballs. "You're so easy to read, Ash. Like a pathetic, butt-hurt little boy."

"Bagon," Ash called, and in a brilliant flash of light, the young dragon appeared. As if sensing the hostility between the two trainers, she snarled at Gary.

"I'm gonna _fuck you up_ with just one pokemon," the other kid cussed. "There's no way that you'll win. Destroy them, Wartortle!" Gary's temper was flaring again. Ever since he was young, the curse words would only slip out when Gary got mad – which was, sadly, fairly often.

The turtle pokemon growled upon its release, shaking its furry eyebrows and tail. On its shell, Ash could clearly see the scars from previous battles; the pokemon from the Squirtle evolution line tended to wear those scars with pride. It must have been used in a lot of battles.

"Hone Claws," Ash instructed, and Bagon's small arms glinted briefly. Before he could say anything else, a torrent of water came rushing at the bipedal creature. Without any need for Ash to say _dodge_, Bagon rolled to the right and began rapidly closing the distance between the two pokemon. Ash wasn't that worried about Bagon getting hit by any special attacks; the most powerful ranged move a normal Wartortle would know would be Water Pulse, and dragon-types were resistant towards water-type moves anyways.

"What a unique pokemon to see in Kanto," Gary muttered, looking thoughtful for a moment. "Bagon – dragon type, right? Then, Wartortle"—Ash's blood froze with trepidation, praying that Gary wasn't going to say what Ash feared he was about to say—"use _Ice Beam_."

Bagon, sprinting right at Gary's Wartortle, was smashed in the shoulder by a thin beam of ice. She howled in pain and hit the ground hard, sliding to a stop before Wartortle's feet. Running that quickly and getting shot in the shoulder by such a powerful attack must've made the dragon pokemon spin out of control.

A _tsk, tsk, tsk_ sound came from Gary's throat, and he shook his head. "It's obviously its first time gettin' hit by an ice attack. I pity it for havin' such an incompetent trainer."

Ash's hands shook, and he couldn't tell whether or not it was out of anger or fear – fear of losing to Gary.

Bagon snarled and stood back up, catching Gary's Wartortle off guard. _"Dragon Claw!" _Ash yelled, and he noted that it was probably the first time he had actually shouted during a pokemon battle. Strangely, Ash found himself feeling panicked, something that never happened to him before. Sure, he'd felt nervous before, especially when he was about to square off against a Gym Leader, but panicked? Never once until now.

The dragon pokemon delivered a vicious slash to the turtle and it stumbled backwards. Ash wasn't going to let it release another Ice Beam, so he told Bagon to get in close and smash it with Iron Head. Bagon instantly jumped forward, head lowered, and slammed into the torso of the turtle pokemon.

"Take the hit!" Gary shouted, taking a step forward and pointing his finger at Ash's pokemon. "Then shoot it point-blank with Ice Beam!"

Ash fired an order as quickly as he could spit the words out of his mouth. "Dodge, then Double Team – _Bagon!_"

Bagon rolled under the initial Ice Beam and split into two copies, one fake and one real, but the Double Team didn't matter at all to Wartortle. The laser-like Ice Beam cut through both images, and Bagon took a sustained Ice Beam at point-blank range right into her face. She was knocked onto her back by the force behind the super-effective attack, but Wartortle didn't relent in its assault. The Ice Beam sprayed forth and the dragon screamed in agony.

"Gary, _stop_!" Ash pleaded, choosing the health of his pokemon over his pride. With a smug expression, Gary called for the turtle pokemon to stop its attack, and Bagon stumbled to her feet, rocking back and forth slightly. She tried to make another attempt to hit Wartortle with a Dragon Claw, but it was obvious that the only thing keeping her standing was sheer will. If she got hit by another attack, she'd be done for.

"It's alright, Bagon, take a rest," Ash soothed, returning his pokemon. Then, after Bagon disappeared, he narrowed his eyes at Gary. "How did your Wartortle already learn Ice Beam?"

"TMs," the other shrugged, allowing a wicked smile to cross his face. "When I heard that you were runnin' amok with a Bagon, I instantly picked up a couple of Ice Beams – ya know, just to be safe. Though, to be honest, I thought you were gonna be better than _this_."

Ash's teeth grated against each other, and he primed Haunter's pokeball. Then, he remembered that Surge's Raichu had KO'd her, which left him with a paralyzed Charmander to go up against Wartortle. It was a battle the Ash was definitely going to lose, but something about just giving up against Gary made Ash's blood turn to fire. Bagon would have been able to take out Wartortle had Gary not used Ice Beam, but it was Ash's fault to underestimate the Oak like that. With his near limitless cash supply, it made sense that Gary would go out and buy a bunch of TMs. It was what any smart trainer would do.

"Charmander, it's all you," he said. The fire pokemon burst out of his pokeball and took one look at the water pokemon before letting loose a roar.

Gary flat-out laughed, putting his hands on his knees and ducking his head down. "Oh _Arceus_," he chuckled, running a hand through his ridiculously spiked hair, "this is a _joke_. Hose 'em down, Wartortle. Don't even take him out at once. Take your time."

Charmander cried out in indignation, sending a few puffs of fire into the air. "Smokescreen – cover up the whole area," Ash started, and the little lizard pokemon followed his command. The entire battlefield was quickly fogged up, and Ash could barely discern the two outlines of the dueling pokemon.

A jet of water was fired out of Wartortle's mouth and Charmander barely dodged it, but it was immediately followed up with another spurt of water. Ash's pokemon squeaked and jumped as Wartortle kept on firing bursts of water at his feet.

"_Yes, _that's right!" Ash heard Gary laugh, and the sound of clapping hands made it through the fog. "Make it dance, Wartortle!"

"Smokescreen one more time, then get in close and use Dragon Claw, once you do that get out of there and repeat," Ash said lowly, making sure that Gary couldn't hear what he said while the Oak was laughing. Charmander nodded in reply and filled the battleground with a smoke so thick that he couldn't even see their outlines anymore.

There was a sound of a pokemon crying out in pain, and due to Gary's enraged _WHAT!? _Ash could tell that Charmander landed a clean hit against Wartortle. Listening to Ash's previous command, there was a hissing sound as a new Smokescreen replaced the fading smoke. Though he couldn't really see what was going on, he could tell that Wartortle was actively trying to watch where Charmander would attack from since it wasn't spewing out random gouts of water anymore.

Another enraged cry from Wartortle told Ash that Charmander had successfully struck again, and his heart swelled with hope. Maybe Charmander, using this method, could actually take out Gary's Wartortle. Even if he could just take out one pokemon –

There was a faint screech and the sound of electricity cackling. The haze faded, and Ash saw why Charmander didn't use Smokescreen again. The fire-type tried moving, but tendrils of electricity arced through his body and immobilized it. _The paralysis from earlier_, Ash recalled, sucking in a breath.

Wartortle, having reacquired its target, fired a large halo of water that smacked the unmoving form of Charmander square in the chest. He fell backwards from the brute force of the attack and screamed so loudly that even Gary flinched, but Wartortle unmercifully sprayed the fire-type down with jets after jets after jets of water until Ash finally managed to get a good grip on Charmander's pokeball. The flailing fire-type was recalled with a beam of red light.

The two trainers stayed silent for a moment, and it took Ash a moment to realize that he was breathing heavily, as if he'd just run a mile. Gary had an unfathomable look on his face, but he didn't gloat in victory like Ash thought that he would. Instead, he just stared at Ash with neutral eyes, and Ash found himself unable to pinpoint the emotion on the Oak's face even after knowing him for all of his life.

"That," Gary finally said, recalling Wartortle into a white Premier Ball, "was _pathetic_."

With those condemning words, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the gym, waiting for the automatic glass doors to slide open before turning his head. Ash already knew what he was going to say before the boy opened his mouth. "Smell ya' later, Ashy-boy."

Then the doors clicked shut.

**– Ω –**

Before Ash knew it, the sun had already set and the coastal city lit up in an unmistakably beautiful array of light.

Bagon, Haunter, and Charmander were all resting up at the Pokemon Center. After giving those three to the nurse stationed there, Ash wandered out listlessly. He didn't know why or where he was going, but Ash just wanted to… _get out_. Escape.

_But from who? _his mind mentally chattered.

Shrugging at no one in particular, Ash continued his idle walking, cruising by souvenir shops and staring at the little trinkets. He didn't bother to keep a track on time, and he'd left his Pokegear back at his room in the Pokemon Center. The only reason that Ash realized that it was getting late was when the sun's light was gone and replaced by the ones on the street lamps.

The trainer sat down on a bench and leaned his head backwards, staring up at the sky. Due to the city's light pollution, he couldn't see the stars in the sky like he would in Pallet Town.

Ash sighed, deeply, and buried his face in his hands.

He knew who he was trying to avoid. Ash couldn't bear to face his pokemon after failing them like that. Starting from Bagon getting hit completely unprepared by an Ice Beam and not factoring in Charmander's paralysis, Ash had repeatedly _failed _in the battle against Gary. Although Ash knew that he was probably being too harsh on himself, the loss to Gary still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

_Pathetic. Incompetent. _Those were the words that Gary used to describe him.

For a scary moment, he felt doubtful of himself. That battle was a one-sided curbstomp dished out by Gary. He didn't even manage to take out one of his pokemon, and even if Ash somehow managed to take out Wartortle, Gary had another _five _pokemon to back it up.

_I'm better than you._

_Yeah, he is, _Ash thought, groaning. He stared at nothing in particular, not even noticing a certain _pissed _off redhead stomping in his direction until a hand smacked across his cheek.

"_Ash!_" Misty roared, putting her hands on her hips. "Where the hell have you been? I tried calling you on your Pokegear, but you left that in your room – White and I thought that you'd probably have gone to Surge's gym but he said that you challenged him hours ago, your pokemon are still at the Pokemon Center and I don't even know what you were thinking…"

Her words trailed off into white noise as Ash had a sudden epiphany. Misty's slap in the face certainty did wonders.

_Pathetic. Incompetent. _Those were the words that Gary used to describe him. _But_, Ash decided, balling his hands into fists, _he's wrong_. _I'm the son of a champion. I've got that blood running through my veins. What Gary said about being better than me… it might be true right now, but it sure as hell won't be in the future!_

"Misty," Ash said suddenly, knocking her out of her rant by standing up, "everyone expects me to be a good trainer, right? Since I'm the son of Red?"

"Yeah, I guess," she answered honestly, but then her eyes narrowed. "Wait, were you listening to me at all – "

"Then I'm not going to disappoint them," Ash stated, feeling a wonderful energy pound through his chest. It was rousing, in a sense. "I'm going to be the best, Misty. I don't care how many times I lose, I don't care how many people put me down – I will not stop until that is a reality. I will _never _give up. I'll become the best and prove all of them wrong!"

There was a beat of silence after his triumphant claim.

"Look, that's great and all," she said, frowning, "but where did that come from?"

Ash blinked and realized that he'd pretty much broken out into a rather loud self-proclamation on a fairly crowded street. His face turned red from embarrassment, and he sat back down on the bench. Whatever energetic feeling he had was quickly put down by Misty's sobering words, but Ash believed what he had said.

That was the goal that he had set out with. _Nothing _was going to stop him from being a Pokemon Master.

"Mist," Ash whispered, ignoring all the strange looks that he was getting, "let's get back to the Pokemon Center and rest for the night. Do you have anything you've still got to do?"

"No, I got everything taken care of," the girl shared in an equally low tone. The duo started to walk back in the direction of the Pokemon Center, and when they passed by one of the seaside stands, Misty suddenly ran up to the little kiosk.

"Ash, check it out!" she shouted excitedly, picking up what seemed to be a bracelet covered in seashells and jewels. "Isn't it beautiful?"

The light reflected off of the green jade in pretty ways, sure, but there wasn't anything that special about it. Ash tactfully refrained from saying that, and looking at the price tag, he found that it was actually quite cheap. "Do you like it?"

"I-I mean," Misty stuttered, setting it down, "it's just a bracelet, that's all."

Ash allowed a small chuckle. Her previous excitement indicated the exact _opposite _of what she'd just said. And, because Ash was feeling like a generous person and rather giddy after his epiphany of sorts, he offered, "I'll buy it."

Despite Misty's spluttering protests, Ash fished out a wad of cash and handed it to the cashier, taking the bracelet in his hands and giving it to the ex-Gym Leader. She immediately put it on and stretched out her arms, admiring the way it looked like a kid admiring a new toy that they really wanted.

Then, she seemed to catch what she was doing and crossed her arms, huffing, "You didn't have to buy it for me, _idiot_."

_Who knew calling someone an idiot could sound so endearing, _Ash mused. The pleased look and soft smile on Misty's face made up for her words, and Ash resumed walking back towards the Pokemon Center.

When he didn't hear Misty running to catch up with him, Ash took a quick look back at her. She was still staring at the bracelet with a wide smile on her face. Under the light from the street lamp, Ash could see a soft, red tint on her cheeks, but that could've easily been imagined. Nevertheless, the image of a genuinely smiling Misty next to the ocean was tucked into Ash's mind, right in the folder titled _Things I Don't Want to Forget_.

"Hurry up," Ash called, snapping Misty out of her reverie. She instantly caught up to him, and the two walked in a comfortable silence. When Ash checked to see if she was still there, he caught Misty looking at him with another soft smile. Feeling his own cheeks rapidly heat up, Ash looked away, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.

When Ash and Misty finally arrived at the Pokemon Center, he quickly took back Haunter, Charmander, and Bagon from the nurse and reattached their pokeballs to his belt. Ascending quickly to their room, the two found White messing around with her Pokedex.

"White, whatcha looking at?" Misty greeted, two trainers looking at the object in their older companion's hands.

"Nothing," she snapped, hiding away her Pokedex. Before she could fully conceal it, Ash saw the page that she was looking at – Bagon's evolutionary line. He decided not to bring it up, however. Then, White turned her eyes to Ash and gave him a smoldering glare. "Where have you been?"

"Out," he answered simply.

Misty decided to elaborate upon that. "I found him moping around in the shopping district. Whatever weird mood he was in, I think that I managed to slap it out of him."

Ash nodded, about to sink into the bed when Misty roughly shoved him off. "_Noo! _These beds are clean! Go shower your filth off and then come back."

"Fair enough," the boy conceded, grabbing a spare change of clothes from his backpack and ducking into the bathroom. After a quick shower, he took a look at himself in the mirror and shuddered at the dark marks on his skin, and the fractal lines running from his shoulder pulsed with his heartbeat. Without a second to spare, Ash quickly threw some clothes on and stepped back out of the bathroom.

Misty went in immediately after him, threatening to kill him if he so much as stepped within a foot of the bathroom door. By now, Ash was already sort of used to that, so he didn't try to come up with a snappy retort.

He plopped down onto his bed, fully aware of the sudden fatigue that was setting down upon him. The boy stared up at the ceiling aimlessly, completely unaware of White's gaze upon him until she spoke. "What happened?" Her eyes weren't narrowed anymore. She seemed more concerned than anything. "As far as I know, you managed to get a badge from Surge, so you weren't upset over that. Something must've happened afterwards."

Ash debated upon whether or not to tell White about his loss to Gary. On one hand, she was incredibly open with him the night before, but that was probably due to both of them being really tired whilst still being in a talkative mood. But on the other hand, he was afraid that she'd mock him for losing.

"It's nothing," he said, opting for the second choice.

"It couldn't have been nothing," White insisted, tapping him on the shoulder. "Come on, tell me."

"I said," the trainer asserted, "it's nothing." He rolled so that he was facing away from White.

When he spared a glance at White, he saw that her eyes were looking down at the floor and her hands were balled into fists. "Suit yourself, then," she hissed, standing up. "You probably just lost or something, and you're being a little kid about it. Grow up," the girl finished harshly.

"Yeah, something like that happened," Ash admitted tiredly, not wanting to get White in the mode where she does nothing but lash out at him.

The girl stayed unmoving for a second, looking down at him. "You could've just said that," she said meekly, sitting back down.

"My bad," he replied. "I should've just told you before things escalated."

_Emotions are hard to control. They can make you lash out at people that you'd rather not, _she'd said. Those words applied as much to Ash as they did to White. Then what emotions were ruling White? Was it anger? Hate? Or maybe –

Ash shook his head, not allowing his head to go down that particular train of thought. She would never think of him like that.

"Well," White started, unsure, "did you… get better?"

"I did," he ascertained, remembering his thoughts. "The guy that I lost to said that I was incompetent, that I was pathetic. He said that he was better than me. And I'm going to do everything in my power to prove him wrong."

Something about his answer definitely pleased her, and she leaned against the wall of the room and shut her eyes. "Good," she murmured, "that's what I like to hear."

"See?" Ash said suddenly, catching her off guard, "I like you a lot better when you're like this."

When the girl didn't say anything, Ash tilted his head to look at her. Her long, dark hair was still in her usual ponytail and her eyes were still shut, but there was something noticeably different about her. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but if Ash had to take a wild guess, he'd say that she looked _softer_, if that made sense.

"Shut up, kid," she ultimately said, her long eyelashes casting shadows against her skin. Her words didn't have the bite that usually possessed, and a small smile ghosted her face. "What are you planning on doing tomorrow?"

"Head north through Route 6 and go to Saffron," he told her. "If that's fine with you and Misty, that is."

"I think we'll be good with that." She opened her eyes – a lovely shade of blue – before flicking Ash's forehead with her finger. "Get some rest."

"Yeah, yeah," Ash grumbled, stuffing his face into his pillow. "Good night, White."

Her words mimicked what she said a night before. "G'night, Ash."

* * *

_**Aaaaand done! **_

**In regards to White's character, I'm picturing her as wanting to close the distance between her and Ash while also wanting to get further away from him. So obviously, those conflicting feelings are rather frustrating, and the poor target of those frustrations being vented is no other than our little Ashy-boy.**

**It's up to the reader's personal interpretation, but you could see that scene between Ash and Misty where he buys her a bracelet as Ash starting to realize that he's having feelings for her. But I'll leave that open, for now.**

**Gary and Ash's relationship here is **_**a lot **_**worse. It'll be expanded upon. Later.**

**And now, WHY I HAVE NOT UPDATED IN OVER A YEAR:**

**In the past year, my personal life has… not been so great. Without going into too specific details, let's just say that, although death is something that happens to everyone, it was the first time that someone very close to me had passed away. A lot of things fell apart very quickly, and I took a break from writing in order to piece everything back together. Now, things are a bit better, and my updates should be more regular. **

**I'd like to apologize for not notifying you all sooner. **

**Anywho, I'll update soon. **


End file.
